Repeat Offender

Listen to Today's Edition:

Thailand’s constitutional court dissolved the pro-democracy Move Forward Party (MFP), ruling it attempted to undermine the country’s royal defamation law during last year’s election campaign, a verdict observers said underscored a pattern suppressing democratic movements in the Southeast Asian nation, the South China Morning Post reported.

On Wednesday, the top court ruled that the MFP was guilty of attempting to overthrow the monarchy with its campaign to reform Thailand’s lèse-majesté laws, which carry up to 15-year sentences for criticizing the royal family.

It accused the party of using the monarchy to gain popular support during the 2023 elections and attempting “to denigrate the monarchy”.

The court also imposed a 10-year political ban on the party’s executives, including its former leader Pita Limjaroenrat.

The verdict comes more than a year after the MFP emerged as the grouping with the most seats in parliament following the polls. The party’s victory underscored the dissatisfaction of many Thais – especially the younger generation – with royalist conservatives that continue to dominate Thailand’s politics and are backed by the military.

However, the party was prevented from forming a government amid opposition from the army-appointed Senate over reforming lèse-majesté legislation. The new coalition government is led by the pro-business Pheu Thai Party.

The dissolution follows in the footsteps of the party’s predecessor, the Future Forward Party, which was dissolved in 2020 after gaining significant success with a platform advocating for major reforms in the 2019 general elections.

The 142 MFP lawmakers will have 60 days to create a new party or lose their status, the Bangkok Post noted. The party plans to regroup under a new name and leadership, with an announcement expected Friday.

Analysts called Wednesday’s decision a setback for democratic reform in Thailand that sent a chilling message to other political parties and movements advocating for change.

They added that the ruling is connected to broader economic concerns, noting that political instability and the suppression of reformist parties have contributed to economic stagnation in Thailand.

Meanwhile, observers suggested that the governing Pheu Thai could benefit from MFP’s dissolution to become the biggest political force in parliament.