Using the Thai monarchy to disband the Move Forward party

Thailand’s Election Commission has turned to the Constitutional Court to disband the party that won the most votes in the last election, claiming that it violated Section 112 (lèse-majesté) of the country’s Criminal Code. A similar ban occurred to another party in 2020.

Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Thailand's Election Commission (EC) has decided to ask the Constitutional Court to disband the Move Forward (Phak Kao Klai) party because it poses a threat to the monarchy.

Such a move is seen as the last possible card to get rid of a political movement that has proven to be "troublesome" for the country’s traditional ruling elites, especially since its strong performance in the 14 May 2023 election.

The party’s success was eventually thwarted by its main ally, the For Thais (Pheu Thai) party, which opted after the vote to form a coalition government with its historical rival, the pro-military People's State Power (Palang Pracharath) party, sending Move Forward into the opposition.

At the heart of the EC’s request is Move Forward’s commitment to revise Section 112 of the Criminal Code, which protects the dignity of the royal family, the lèse-majesté rule.

Over the years, this provision has become a pretext to target individuals and groups hostile to the ruling elites, above all the Armed Forces, which claim to protect the royal household while maintaining de facto control over the country.

For each count, Section 112 imposes up to 15 years in prison on those who express anti-monarchist sentiments or simply criticise the institution.

In its election platform, Move Forward pledged to amend the code, as well as start the process of redefining the role of the monarchy. In the election, the party won 36.23 per cent of the vote, with support especially among young people and the urban middle class.

However, for the EC, “There is evidence that Move Forward undermines the democratic system with the king as the head of state,” a reference to a ruling by the Constitutional Court (CC), which in January declared this part of the party's platform illegitimate.

If the CC responds favourably to the EC’s request it would not only deprive Thailand’s precarious democracy of a party that has been able to understand the needs of cultural and democratic development of many Thais, but would also mean a ten-year ban from active politics for the party’s leaders.

The situation essentially mirrors what happened to the Future Forward (Phak Anakhot Mai) party, which clearly inspired Move Forward. Only two years after its creation, it was outlawed in 2020 for alleged illegal financing.

Since 2020, at least 260 individuals have been tried for lèse-majesté with sentences that, in one case, reached half a century of imprisonment for posting texts critical of the royals on Facebook.

Move Forward spokesman Parit Wacharasindhu rejected claims that the party sought to undermine Thailand's democracy, adding that “We will prove our innocence at the Constitutional Court.”

• thailand
• move forward
• election commission
• constitutional court
• lèse majesté
• criminal code
• disbandment.