The criticism Move Forward Party is attempting to fight in court, but it is unlikely to win.
According to deputy party leader Pol Maj Gen Supisarn Bhakdinarinath, The Move Forward Party ( MPP ) may not survive, but it will make every effort to fight its dissolution case in court.
The judge granted the MFP 15 days to report its defense on April 3 when the judge accepted the MFP’s plea for dissolution under Part 92 of the Political Parties Act.
The court made a decision to extend the deadline by another 15 days to May 3 on April 18; this was done on April 3. However, the opposition party requested a second request to the court on April 24 to give it another 15 days.
The EC has the authority under the Political Parties Act to ask the court for the dissolution of a party if it can gather sufficient evidence to support an act that is considered hostile to the democratic system with the King as head of state.
The MFP was found to have pushed for changes to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lese majeste law, in an effort to undermine the constitutional monarchy, in a decision made on January 31.
The EC acted against the MFP because the Jan. 31 decision provided grounds for dissolution. The MFP was also told to stop all attempts to rewrite Section 112 by the court in its ruling on January 31 and to keep amending the section in a non-legislative manner.
Pol Maj Gen Supisarn Bhakdinarinath
Campaigning on the issue is viewed as an attempt to end the constitutional monarchy and is in violation of the constitution, according to the statement.
The judges pointed to past actions of Pita Limjaroenrat, the party’s former leader, as well as those conducted by the MFP in general, including its applications to grant bail for suspects in lese majeste cases.
When its 44 MPs submitted a bill to amend Section 112, the court claimed Mr. Pita and the organization attempted to either change or repeal it on March 25, 2021.
The Jan. 31 decision, according to Pol Maj Gen. Supisarn, was intended to deter any attempts to put an end to the constitutional monarchy. ” Such action has not actually happened yet”, he said.
” The party was not involved in any attempt to overthrow]the constitutional monarchy]. When submitting the bill to amend Section 112, he said, we only carried out our duties as MPs and adhered to legislative guidelines.
” We have complied with the court’s order]for the party to cease all attempts to amend Section 112]”, he said.
” But if the judges use the same logic]as in the Jan 31 ruling], they may decide to disband the party”, Pol Maj Gen Supisarn said.
” The party is prepared. Let’s wait and see people’s reaction. The more the party is suppressed, the more it will grow”, he said.
” The number of party MPs may increase from 150 currently to 250 in the next election”, he said.
Only a few party members were likely to shift their allegiances and defect to other parties, he said, even if the party was disbanded. ” Many of our MPs are steadfast in the party’s ideology”.
The law mandates that a party’s MPs must resign within 60 days in order to lose their MP status.
The judges who will decide the dissolution case are those who delivered the ruling on January 21, according to Pattana Reonchaidee, a lecturer at Ramkhamhaeng University’s faculty of law.
In light of this, he said, they wo n’t take long to take the case into account because he said the dissolution decision is anticipated to be based on the previous decision.
According to Mr. Pattana,” I believed the decision will be made sooner rather than later and may not be in the MFP’s favor.”
He said a clear justification for the court’s decision must be provided if the party wishes to dissolve itself. ” It’s a big deal to dissolve a party that won the most House seats. The case will draw the attention of many people”, Mr Pattana said.
The MFP won the most votes, 14.4 million in total, in the May 14 election, winning 151 seats in the House.
Some people may feel unfair treatment and have sympathy for the party if it is disbanded. The MFP may get more votes in the next election”, he said.
Pattana Reonchaidee