Thai court orders dissolution of opposition Move Forward Party

BANGKOK: Thailand's Constitutional Court on Wednesday (Aug 7) ordered the dissolution of the popular anti-establishment opposition party, Move Forward Party (MFP), over its controversial campaign to amend a law that protects the powerful monarchy from criticism.

The disbandment of the 2023 election winner is the latest setback for Thailand's major political parties, which remain embroiled in a tumultuous two-decade battle for power with an influential nexus of conservatives, old-money families and royalist generals.

Though the dissolution could anger millions of young and urban voters who backed Move Forward and its progressive agenda, the impact of the ruling could be minimal, with only its 11 party executives receiving 10-year political bans as a result of the verdict.

Among the people affected by this ruling is the Move Forward Party's former leader Pita Limjaroenrat, Thailand's most popular politician. 

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Pita, 43, who led the reformist party to a shock first place in a general election last year, will be barred from taking any role in politics for the next decade.

Pita's popularity soared ahead of the election as he struck a chord with young and urban voters with his pledge to reform Thailand's strict royal defamation law, which rights groups say has been misused to stifle pro-democracy groups.

Hours after the ruling, Move Forward's leaders announced the surviving 143 lawmakers would regroup and form a new party on Friday, as they did in 2020 when predecessor Future Forward was dissolved over a campaign funding violation.

Deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakul said the new vehicle, which would be the biggest party in parliament, would take on the same core ideology and would not neglect its promises to the electorate.

"We will not abandon our dream and our mission and duty that was tasked to us," she said.

"As long as the people are alongside us and support us to change this country, we will continue forward."

If all join the same party, it would be the biggest in parliament and would be expected to continue a progressive agenda that includes military reform and undoing big business monopolies, among the policies that saw its rivals coalesce to block it from forming a government last year.

At around 4pm local time, scores of supporters turned up at the party headquarters, expressing discontent with the ruling. 

A CNA reporter at the scene noted that emotions were high. 

"UNCHARTED TERRITORY"

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of international relations and executive director of The Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, said the dissolution of Move Forward is "uncharted territory that we've not seen in Thai politics".

"In fact, the election results have been systematically (and) now successfully subverted. The vote did not count basically because the winning party has been dissolved," he added.

While Wednesday's ruling confirmed months of speculation that the party would be dissolved, the development is a "big deal" as it means a reduction in the country's political talent, said Thitinan.

"The party stands for certain ideas, reform, progress, change, modernisation. When this happens, it means Thailand is not changing. It's going back to the past, not to the future."

This comes as the country has been at a standstill and seeing signs of economic stagnation, with many Thais wanting a better future, noted Thitinan.

"(Move Forward) will form another party, but every time it gets weaker and weaker, and democratic development in Thailand gets weakened."

Last year, Move Forward's influential rivals coalesced to block the party from forming a government. But the progressive movement remains a political force and a threat to the status quo, bent on pursuing a platform that includes military reform and dismantling big business monopolies.

Those policies have put it on a collision course with powerful groups at the heart of an intractable crisis that since 2006 has seen two coups, the removal of four prime ministers, dissolution of multiple parties and a series of crippling, at times violent, street protests.

Some supporters called for protests against the court decision. At Move Forward's headquarters, its loyalists expressed both disappointment and disbelief at the ruling.

"It feels like we have hit rock bottom," said Sirinapa Veillet, 58.

"It feels like we have no support left, none at all," she said of Thailand's democratic institutions.

Move Forward's disbandment comes at a critical juncture in Thai politics, with cracks appearing also in an uneasy truce between the royalist establishment and another longtime rival, the populist ruling party, Pheu Thai.

Pheu Thai and its previous incarnations have suffered the most from Thailand's coups and judicial interventions, with the Constitutional Court next week set to decide whether to dismiss Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin over his appointment to cabinet of a lawyer who served time in jail. Srettha denies wrongdoing

Tycoon Srettha's case is among factors that have heightened political uncertainty and roiled financial markets, with the prospect of political upheaval if he is removed.

A new premier would need to be voted on by parliament, potentially pitting Pheu Thai against coalition partners and leading to a shakeup of the governing alliance and realignment of cabinet and policies.