Bangkok’s defeated election winner Pita Limjaroenrat said on Sunday ( Jun 9 ) that he is confident of winning a case that could lead to the dissolution of his party because of its commitment to overhaul the kingdom’s stringent royal insult regulations.
In the most recent general election, Pita’s reformist Move Forward Party ( MPF ) won the majority of seats, but conservative senators blocked him from becoming prime minister, partly as a result of his efforts to amend the laws protecting King Maha Vajiralongkorn from criticism.
The kingdom’s legal prosecutor is considering a plea to break MFP, but on Sunday, Pita outlined the group’s nine- place army, saying he believed the situation would not go against them.
” I’m really comfortable with my nine claims. Our nine explanations focus on the authority and the procedure”, he told investigators.
Thailand has a history of political criminal interference, and the Future Forward Party, the group that defeated MFP in 2020, was dissolved on a court order due to financial concerns.
Pita warned that the dissolution of MFP, the largest one party in parliament, could have significant implications.
” That means an assault on democracy”, he said.
” It’s not just me privately, it’s not just the celebration, but it’s really about the conversation about political place here in Thailand”.
In March, the Thai election committee requested that MFP be disbanded in response to a previous ruling by the courtroom that the group’s commitment to reform lee-majeste rules amounted to an attempt to overthrow the democratic king.
The judge will carry a hearing in the case on Wednesday, but is not expected to give a decision.
Pita said the group’s attorneys may counteract the court’s claim that the election commission did not properly document the complaint and that the court does not have authority to act in the case.
Additionally, they will insist that any sanctions imposed should be equal and that there is no need to break the party.
We think that the MPs ‘ intention to change the law was not to destroy or disrupt the constitutional monarchy’s institution, according to Pita.
The Future Forward Party’s breakdown in 2020 was the inspiration for widespread, youth-led street demonstrations that erupted in Bangkok for weeks.
At the top of the demonstrations, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets, many of whom demanded transparency and reform in response to their exceptional public condemnation of the royal household.
In the midst of the demonstrations, two elected MPs were among the more than 270 people who have been charged with lese-majeste.
The Thai government’s imperial defamation laws are among the closest in the world, with each demand enlarging a possible 15-year prison term, but critics claim it is abused to stifle legitimate political debate.