The revolutionary celebration, which had the most seats and votes in the previous election but was prevented from forming a government, has been ordered to disband in Thailand.
The decision also banned Move Forward’s personable, young former president Pita Limjaroenrat and 10 other senior figures from politics for 10 years.
The verdict from the Constitutional Court was expected, after its ruling in January that Move Forward’s campaign promise to change royal defamation laws was unconstitutional.
The judge had claimed that calling for the end of the extremely restrictive lese majeste law equated to calling for the end of the constitutional monarchy.
The outcome of Wednesday’s ruling once more serves as a powerful reminder of how far unaccountable governments are willing to go in order to maintain the monarchy’s authority and status.
However, the decision does not formally close the reform movements in Thai politics.
The 142 Move Forward MPs who are still alive are expected to switch to a different authorized group and continue to represent the main opposition in congress.
The former Future Forward Party, which had also performed unanticipatedly well in an election, was even dissolved, becoming the Move Forward Party, which is essentially what happened in 2020.
Following the ruling, which lasted for six decades and raised unheard demands for greater accountability from the king, sparked massive street protests led by a new generation of scholar protesters.
Since then, the authorities have prosecuted numerous protest leaders, including some Move Forward MPs, in large numbers using the stability guess law.
In its statement Move Forward, the law was widely criticized for stifling freedom of expression in Thailand. Its harsher words, including 50 years in jail, were suggested, as well as a more stringent application of the law for filing fees.
Reformists ‘ fears that Move Forward wo n’t perform as well in the election of 2018 as Future Forward did in 2019 proved to be unfounded.
The group defied expectations and surpassed all other parties to be Thailand’s largest parliament, demonstrating a strong desire for change among Thai voters.
However, the military-appointed congress blocked Move Forward from forming a federal over its stability guess ideas, allowing a 11-party alliance of more traditional parties to take energy instead.
The large-scale protests from the year 2020 are much less possible now because there are so many activists in prison, in captivity, or fighting legal charges.
Yet Move Forward’s very light proposals for a less intense lee majeste law, as it did with its past incarnation Future Forward, were removed four years ago, have caused the organization to lose its top leaders.
And anyone considering organizing protests like those held four years ago will be aware that der majeste and several other stringent regulations in the Thai legal code will apply to them as well.
Thailand’s constitutional court, which has dissolved 33 parties since 2006, has long been the concept guardian of the traditional position quo- at its center is the king, protected by a politically-assertive military. Beyond that, inexplicable energy is wielded by castle officials, top judges, business magnates, and military and police officers.
The Senate has a significant influence over the content of another important extra-parliamentary bodies, including the Election Commission and the National Anti-Corruption Commission, under the military-drafted law.
The military dictatorship, which ruled Thailand from 2014 to 2019, reorganized the social environment in which political parties are currently operating. It significantly contributed to Walk Forward’s failure to form a state.
The new senate’s vote system, which only allows those who wanted to run for a seat in the senate to cast ballots in many sessions, was not clear what to expect from it this year. That, and some dark backroom dealing, have produced a new 200-seat congress, most of whom appear to be linked to a group known for its unyielding commitment to the king.