Thailand: Election Commission Seeks to Dissolve Opposition Party

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Facts

  • Thailand's election authority unanimously decided to ask the constitutional court to dissolve the reformist Move Forward Party (MFP) for violating the prohibition of insulting the royal family. If the court agrees, the party's leaders could be banned from politics for 10 years.1
  • The MFP, which won last year's general election, had sought to amend the royal defamation law, to which the court ruled the move unconstitutional. Violating the law can result in up to 15 years in prison, though no one from the MFP was punished.2
  • This follows the removal of the Future Forward Party (FFP) in 2020 over charges of financial violations, which prompted large protests in Bangkok featuring unprecedented amounts of criticism against the Thai monarchy.3
  • Since the 2020 remarks against the royal family, whom the Constitution states should be in a position of 'revered worship,' over 260 people have been prosecuted under the law. This included a man sentenced to 50 years in prison over anti-monarchy Facebook posts.4
  • Former head of the MFP Pita Limjaroenrat was barred from serving as Prime Minister by Senate conservatives, though he was later cleared of alleged election violations in January that could have permanently banned him from politics.1

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Associated Press, 3barrons.com and 4Reuters.com.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Bangkokpost. While the court is typically on the side of the constitutionalists, this time may be different given the result of the court's dissolution of the FFP. The public is growing more in favor of the MFP and Pita, who could very well take charge of the government once the existing Senate term concludes. It's time for the court to consider a more nuanced approach in balancing public criticism with maintaining the monarchy.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Thai Examiner. While the legal actions being taken against the MFP will undoubtedly impact Thai politics and society, the fact of the matter is that Pita's party has been openly encouraging widespread violations of the Constitution. By campaigning on this issue, the MFP has clearly instigated anger toward the constitutionally protected royal family — an act that puts the monarchy and its government at risk.

Predictions