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The Constitutional Court on Wednesday unanimously dismissed requests to defend Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s right to be renominated to parliament for prime minister, saying the petitioners were not the damaged parties.

The court said the requests came from 18 people who voted for MFP in the May 14 general election, 13 other voters in the general election, and MFP MP Panyarat Nanthaphusitanont.

They asked the court to rule on the parliament’s resolution on July 19 rejecting the renomination of Mr Pita for prime minister, because they considered the resolution violated their constitutional rights.

On Wednesday the Constitutional Court ruled that petitions it would consider must come from the people whose rights or liberties were directly violated by the exercise of state authority.

In this case, the petitioners were not nominated prime ministerial candidates and thus their rights or liberties were not directly violated. Therefore, the court decided unanimously to not accept the petitions for deliberation, the court said in its decision.

The parliament on July 19 rejected the renomination of Mr Pita for prime minister by majority vote on a procedural issue. His opponents argued that parliamentary regulation 41 bans the resubmission of a failed motion during the same session, and that included Mr Pita’s renomination.

Mr Pita was renominated after his first attempt to become prime minister was voted down on July 13.

With Mr Pita’s road to the premiership blocked, the Pheu Thai Party withdrew from the MFP-led coalition and is instead trying to form the next government with its own prime ministerial candidate, Srettha Thavisin.

MFP was the election winner with 151 House seats. Pheu Thai was second with 141 seats.

On July 19 the Consitutional Court suspended Mr Pita from working as an MP, pending its ruling on his parliamentary status in relation to his past shareholding in iTV Plc. The constitution prohibits a shareholder of a media organisation from running in a general election.

An Election Commission panel investigating the complaint was on Tuesday reported to have recommended dropping the charge.

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a request from the election winning Move Forward Party to review a parliamentary decision that blocked its prime ministerial candidate from being re-nominated.

The move all but kills off any hope of the progressive Move Forward leading the next government and paves the way for the legislature to hold another vote on a prime minister as soon as this week.

The court said its decision was unanimous.

The court in its decision said it declined to accept the case because it was lodged by a group of more than 20 individuals that did not include the prime ministerial candidate himself. “Their rights were not violated and they did not have the rights to file the complaint,” it said.

Allies of Move Forward had petitioned the court to decide on the legality of a July 19 decision by lawmakers to prevent Pita from being nominated for premier for a second time after his failure at the first attempt.

Parliament is now expected to schedule a vote within days on the prime ministerial candidacy of businessman and political neophyte Srettha Thavisin, of the second-place Pheu Thai Party.

Move Forward won the May election with huge youth and urban support for its liberal policy platform, posing a threat to business monopolies and the military’s political power.

But its effort to form a government failed to win enough support, with broad opposition to its plan, especially among military-appointed senators, to amend the lese majeste law to prevent it being used for purely political purposes.

Police have closed their investigation into the murder of a Colombian plastic surgeon on Koh Phangan, even though most of the victim’s body, allegedly dismembered by his partner, remains unaccounted for.

Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn told reporters on Tuesday that after wo weeks of intense work, the investigation into the murder and dismembering of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44, had been closed.

Arrieta was believed murdered on Koh Phangan on Aug 1, allegedly by his boyfriend, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, a popular YouTube chef and son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre and actress Silvia Bronchalo.

According to Pol Gen Surachate, who led the investigationm, the suspect arrived in Thailand on July 31, the day before Arrieta. They planned to meet on Koh Phangan on Aug 2 so Arrieta booked a hotel room for them both to stay in. However, Mr Sancho also had a room booked at a different hotel, where he later allegedly killed his lover.

Police charge that Mr Sancho cut the body into 17 parts, some of which he stuffed into a duffel bag he threw into the sea. The rest he allegedly put in a trash bag that he dumped at the tambon Koh Phangan Municipal Solid Waste Management Centre. These remains were discovered by local trash pickers on Aug 3.

Pol Gen Surachate said investigators believed the murder was premeditated. There was evidence Mr Sancho had bought a long knife, plastic bags, cleaning solutions and rubber gloves on Aug 1. Police also found bloodstains, human tissue, grease marks and hair while searching the hotel room.

Mr Sancho has acknowledged charges of premeditated murder, concealing and/or removing body parts to cover up a death or cause of death, according to police.

Pol Gen Surachate said the Royal Thai Police will ask the Colombian embassy to contact Arrieta’s family so they can claim his remains.

Questions Srettha’s legitimacy for PM

Political activist and whistle-blower Chuvit Kamolvisit alleged on Tuesday that the property developer Sansiri Plc nominated a housekeeper and a security guard to take out a 1-billion-baht loan from a subsidiary to purchase land in the Thong Lor area of Bangkok.

Mr Chuvit hosted a press conference to reveal the alleged shareholding fraud of Sansiri, which was operating under its former CEO, Srettha Thavisin, now the prime ministerial candidate of the Pheu Thai Party.

Mr Chuvit claimed Sansiri used these two nominees — a housekeeper and a security guard — to take out a 1-billion-baht loan from its subsidiary to pay a landowner 565 million baht. He said no one appears to know what the rest of money was spent on.

The housekeeper was later identified as Ms Pinit (surname not disclosed), who lives in Maha Sarakham province.

She was found to have held 99% of the shares in the subsidiary, but there was no recorded data of her making corporate tax payments.

Another nominee — a security guard identified as Mr Somsak (surname also withheld) — was found to have owned 1% of the company.

He was also listed as the board member of five firms, including a transport service company associated with another Sansiri project.

Mr Chuvit said after the subsidiary sold the plot to Sansiri, the company was abandoned.

In light of this, Mr Chuvit asked whether Mr Srettha was qualified to serve as the next prime minister — if his government was going to be overseen by nominees.

“I will ask the Stock Exchange of Thailand to check on the governance of Sansiri and ask the Senate for a review of Mr Srettha’s qualifications [to become PM],” he said.

Pheu Thai deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai said Mr Srettha’s qualifications would be reviewed according to the relevant regulations.

He also expressed confidence Pheu Thai could garner more than the 375 votes it needs for Mr Srettha to become prime minister and for the party to form a new government, adding it is in talks with the Palang Pracharath Party and United Thai Nation Party about serving as coalition allies.

Last week, Mr Srettha sued Mr Chuvit for 500 million baht for defamation over comments made about another land purchased earlier by Sansiri.

Mr Chuvit implied Sansiri had attempted to dodge paying taxes.

Paetongtarn ‘Ung Ing’ Shinawatra, head of the Pheu Thai Family, has flown to Dubai to take her father, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, to see an ophthalmologist.

Ms Paetongtarn made the announcement about helping her father via her Instagram account on Tuesday. She also posted an Instagram story with a background song Que Sera, Sera (Whatever will be, will be).

Her latest trip to Dubai, where Thaksin has been residing, came after the fugitive former premier said on Aug 5 that he was putting off his return from self-exile because he needed a medical checkup first.

Thaksin fled Thailand in 2008, shortly before the Supreme Court convicted him for helping his then-wife, Khunying Potjaman Na Pombejra, buy prime land in the Ratchadaphisek area at a discount while he was prime minister. Thaksin posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had originally planned to return to Thailand by Aug 10, but that now needed to be put back by a couple of weeks.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam on Tuesday defended the caretaker government’s appointment of high-ranking officials, saying they were needed to fill a potential vacuum left by the mandatory retirement of key officials.

His remarks came after the Pheu Thai Party last week warned the outgoing cabinet not to appoint senior officials, saying the matter should be left to a new government which it is trying to put together.

Mr Wissanu said the new appointments were to find replacements for those retiring at the end of next month, which is the last month on the fiscal calendar, and that they have nothing to do with the annual rotation of state officials. He said the annual reshuffle of senior C-10 officials is overseen by the permanent secretary of each ministry, noting that if the matter had to wait for a new government, the country’s administration would be put on hold.

He also said the cabinet on Tuesday approved proposed appointments, but they would not yet be forwarded for royal endorsement. These appointments would be thoroughly examined with the process likely to take about a month, he added.

Asked about media reports related to the appointment of a new secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Mr Wissanu said he was only making preparations.

The proposed appointment involves a transfer of a police officer to the Justice Ministry, so there are several steps to be taken, he said.

“Let’s see when we’ll get a new government. If we get it soon, the [reshuffle] issue will be left to the new government. But if the new government is set up later than Aug 22, it can’t wait,” he said.

According to media reports, assistant national police chief, Pol Lt Gen Panurat Lakboonto, will be named the new ONCB chief to succeed Wichai Chaimongkol, who retires next month.

Police have closed their investigation into the murder of a Colombian plastic surgeon on Koh Phangan despite the fact that most of the victim’s body, which was allegedly dismembered by his partner, remains unaccounted for.

Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn told reporters on Tuesday that after working hard to resolve the case for two weeks, their investigation into the killing and dismembering of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44, would be closed.

Arrieta was allegedly murdered by his boyfriend, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, a well-known YouTube chef and son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre and actress Silvia Bronchalo on Koh Phangan on Aug 1.

According to Pol Gen Surachate, who led the investigation into the killing, the suspect arrived in Thailand on July 31, the day before Arrieta. They planned to meet on Koh Phangan on Aug 2, so Arrieta booked a hotel room for them to stay in, but Mr Sancho also had a booking at a different hotel, where he later carried out the murder.

After allegedly killing his partner, police said Mr Sancho cut the body up into 17 parts. Some of the parts he stuffed into a duffel bag which he threw into the sea, while the rest he put in a trash bag that he dumped at the tambon Koh Phangan Municipal Solid Waste Management Centre. These remains were discovered by local trash pickers on Aug 3.

Pol Gen Surachate said police believe the murder was premeditated, as evidence showed Mr Sancho had bought a long knife, plastic bags, cleaning solutions and rubber gloves on Aug 1. Police also found bloodstains, human tissue, grease marks and hairs while searching the hotel room.

Mr Sancho has acknowledged the premeditated murder charge against him, as well as the charges for concealing and/or removing body parts to cover up a death or cause of death, said the police.

Pol Gen Surachate said the Royal Thai Police will ask the Colombian embassy to reach Arrieta’s family so they can claim what’s left of his remains.

MFP leader says his suspension was unfair

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat yesterday questioned the motives of the Election Commission (EC) for investigating his shareholding in the defunct broadcaster iTV now that an inquiry panel has recommended it drop the case.

Mr Pita raised questions about the EC over the case following reports on Monday that the EC’s inquiry panel recommended the election watchdog drop the charge that he violated Section 151 of the Election Act for allegedly holding shares in a media firm while filing candidacy in the May 14 election.

“The probe panel has provided an important reason that iTV is not operating nor earns income from its media business. This shows that I am not at fault,” Mr Pita said on Facebook.

“I want to reaffirm suspicion that my TV shareholding case is politically motivated. I had held the shares in question while performing my MP duty for four years, but complaints were made when I was a prime ministerial candidate.

“The case was submitted to the Constitutional Court a few days before my nomination as prime minister was made in parliament. There were many pieces of abnormal evidence that there were attempts to revive iTV firm, which had ceased broadcasting for over 10 years to be ‘media shares’.”

As the committee found he was not guilty, Mr Pita said he wanted to ask the EC whether the panel had made a resolution before the EC submitted its petition to the Constitutional Court. The panel gathered evidence, questioned witnesses, and concluded that iTV was not operating as a media firm. However, the EC still submitted its petition to the court, ignoring facts and guidelines that the court had laid earlier about earnings and sources of income to decide which firms were operating as media organisations, said Mr Pita.

He also asked the EC whether it was fair to ask the court to suspend him as an MP pending a court ruling. Intouch Holdings, the major iTV shareholder, and iTV had financial documents that the defunct media firm had stopped broadcasting and had no income from its media operations, said Mr Pita. He cited previous media shareholdings of about 60 MPs in 2020 whom the court had not ordered suspended.

“But in my case, I was suspended from MP duty. I want society to consider whether the suspension of my duties was fair or not,” Mr Pita said.