By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
Thai Court Dissolves Reformist Party That Won Election
The Thai court has dissolved the reformist Move Forward Party, which garnered the most seats and votes during last year's general election, one that had blocked them from forming a government. The Constitutional Court's ruling also bans from politics for a decade former high profile core members of the Move Forward Party, including leader Pita Limjaroenrat.
This decision follows a similar ruling in January when the court decided that the soon to be promised reform of the royal defamation laws by the Move Forward party was unconstitutional. Previously, the court argued that any effort to amend the lese majeste law, whose penalties are notoriously severe, was an appeal to abolish Thailand's constitutional monarchy.
This court verdict is a prime illustration of just how far unelected institutions will go to defend the power and prestige of the monarchy. The judgment, however, is unlikely to put the brakes on the reformist movement within Thailand's politics. The other 142 MPs from Move Forward are expected to run with another party that is already a registered party and stay on as the lead opposition within parliament.
On social media, Move Forward responded to the court's judgment with a defiant tone, signaling a new chapter in their journey with a video: "Friends, it's time to continue this fight." Opposition leader Chaitawat Tulathon, who was among those who were banned from having political roles, made a tearful departure from his colleagues, having described the time he had been with them as "an honor."
According to political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University, such a ruling raises the question of whether Thailand is indeed a constitutional monarchy or an absolute monarchy. Trying to put it in perspective, he said it was something like déjà vu, yet there was a maximal land of unknown territory, likening the decision to the dissolution of the Future Forward Party in 2020 that sent thousands to the streets in protest, with a key demand being for accountability from the monarchy.
The same happened to the Future Forward Party, a close second in the 2019 race, and it had to be reincarnated as the Move Forward Party. The protests grew largely spearheaded by a new breed of student leaders who called for massive political and social reforms.
For years, the authorities have used the lese majeste law to stifle dissent; at least one protest movement leader has been charged and several other, including some Move Forward MPs, with the law. Indeed, the law is widely criticized for gagging freedom of expression in Thailand, and the platform had Move Forward advocating reduced penalties and a more rigorous process of filing of charges.
'In contrast to fears,' if the Move Forward coalition would not be able to repeat the popularity that Future Forward had acquired in their election last year, the party rallied far better than anticipated and emerged as the largest in parliament. However, efforts to amend the lese majeste law have been blocked by the military appointed senate, before eventually the party Move Forward was barred from forming a government. A government was formed by a coalition of the more hard line conservative parties.
Given the climate, with so many key activists either behind bars, in exile, or facing criminal charges, there's little prospect of large scale protests similar to those that rocked the country in 2020. It meant the fracturing of Move Forward's leadership similarly to the disbandment of Future Forward a reminder of the uphill battle that reformists in Thailand still have.
It also remains in the business of dissolving political parties: the Constitutional Court has dissolved 34 parties from 2006. And it remains a staunch defender of the conservative status quo monarchy included backed by a politically powerful military. An old Thai senate, handpicked by the military junta that ruled Thailand between 2014 and 2019, was the lynchpin in that process of reconfiguration and in preventing Move Forward from getting anywhere near a government function.
But fair voting now rewarded regional advantages to the monarchy loyalists and the senate remained a 200 seat body that anyhow had to encase a significant influence in Thailand's other political setup. The very structure of the election mechanism extricated a senate with 200 seats that seemed much on the side of the pro monarchy factions through mysterious backroom segregations.
The future of the reformist movement thus remains uncertain as Thailand navigates this complex political terrain, although the resilience of its supporters indicates that the struggle for change in politics is far from over.
