Australia has expressed concern over the political situation in Thailand following the Constitutional Court’s nine-judge decision to dissolve the main opposition, the Move Forward Party.
The court banned Pita Limjaroenrat, the party’s former leader, along with 10 other leading members, from political involvement for 10 years due to their attempt to reform Thailand’s royal defamation laws.
The Move Forward Party had campaigned to reduce the punishments for those who criticise the country’s monarchy by amending the lese-majeste law.
Despite winning 151 out of 500 seats in the parliament’s lower house, the party could not form a government because it did not receive enough votes in the Senate.
In January, a court found that the party’s campaign promise to amend the law was unconstitutional, arguing that such a change would undermine the governance system with the king as head of state.
In response to the court’s ruling, the party has since reformed under a new name, the People’s Party, with Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut elected as its new leader. 37-year-old Ruengpanyawut is a former party member of predecessors, the Future Forward and Move Forward parties. The People’s Party pledges to continue pushing for reforms, including amending the royal defamation laws.
“Australia believes that inclusivity, pluralism, and freedom of expression are key democratic principles,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said in a statement.
“As a close friend, Australia encourages Thailand to ensure inclusive political participation that reflects the will of the people.”
This marks the second time in recent years that a party has been banned from participating in Thai politics, as the Constitutional Court previously dissolved the Future Forward Party, the predecessor of Move Forward, over allegations it accepted an illegal loan from its leader.
Lawmaker Parit Wacharasindhu announced that the reformed party would be named the People’s Party to reflect its mission of being “a party from the people and for the people, and to work on creating a Thailand where absolute power belongs to the people.”
