Thai court orders dissolution of anti-establishment election winner

By Chayut Setboonsarng and Panu Wongcha-um

BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand's Constitutional Court on Wednesday ordered the dissolution of anti-establishment opposition party Move Forward, ruling its campaign to amend a law that protects the monarchy from criticism risked undermining the democratic system.

The disbanding of Move Forward, which won the most seats in the 2023 election, marked the latest setback for Thailand's major political parties, which are embroiled in a two-decade battle for power against a nexus of influential conservatives, old-money families and the royalist military.

Though the dissolution could anger millions of young and urban voters who backed Move Forward and its progressive agenda, the ruling's impact may be minimal, with only its 11 party executives receiving 10-year political bans as a result.

Hours after the ruling, Move Forward's leaders announced that the surviving 143 lawmakers would form a new party on Friday, as they did in 2020, when predecessor Future Forward was dissolved over a campaign funding violation. 

Deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakul said the new vehicle, which would be the biggest party in parliament, would take on the same core ideology and not neglect its promises to the electorate.

"We will not abandon our dream and our mission and duty that was tasked to us," she said.

"As long as the people are alongside us and support us to change this country, we will continue forward."

The United States, an important Thai ally, expressed deep concern over the Constitutional Court decision, which it said disenfranchised millions of voters, urging it to ensure inclusive political participation.

'DANGEROUS PRECEDENT'

The verdict came six months after the same court ordered Move Forward to drop its plan to reform a law on royal insults, ruling it was unconstitutional and undermined the system of governance with the king as head of state.

In a unanimous decision on Wednesday that cited the January ruling, the judges said Move Forward had used the monarchy to gain an election advantage, putting the palace in conflict with the people.

"The action of the accused is therefore an action that may antagonise the democratic system with the king as the head of state," they said.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been on the throne for seven years. The monarch is enshrined in the Thai constitution as being in a position of "revered worship" and the palace is seen by royalists as sacrosanct.

Perceived insults towards the monarchy are punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

Move Forward's leaders said the ruling set a dangerous precedent for how the constitution could be interpreted.

They said the party had not antagonised the constitutional monarchy nor did it have any intention of treason, insurrection or separating the monarchy from the country.

In a strongly worded statement, the U.S. State Department said that as a close ally with enduring ties, it urged Thailand to protect democracy and freedom of association and expression.

"The Constitutional Court's decision also jeopardises Thailand's democratic progress and runs counter to the aspirations of the Thai people for a strong, democratic future," spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

CRITICAL JUNCTURE

Last year, Move Forward's influential rivals coalesced to block the party from forming a government. But the progressive movement remains a political force and a threat to the status quo, bent on pursuing a platform that includes military reform and dismantling big business monopolies.

Those policies have put it on a collision course with powerful groups at the heart of an intractable crisis that since 2006 has seen two coups, the removal of four prime ministers, dissolution of multiple parties and a series of crippling, at times violent, street protests.

Some supporters called for protests against the court decision. At Move Forward's headquarters, its loyalists expressed both disappointment and disbelief at the ruling.

"It feels like we have hit rock bottom," said Sirinapa Veillet, 58. "It feels like we have no support left, none at all," she said of Thailand's democratic institutions.

Forty-four of Move Forward's current and former politicians, including 26 legislators, are also the subject of a complaint to an anti-graft body by conservative activists seeking lifetime political bans for seeking to change the royal insults law.

Move Forward's disbandment comes at critical juncture in Thai politics, with cracks appearing also in an uneasy truce between the military-backed establishment and another longtime rival, the populist ruling party, Pheu Thai.

Pheu Thai and its previous incarnations have suffered most from Thailand's coups and judicial interventions, with the Constitutional Court next week set to decide whether to dismiss Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin over his appointment to cabinet of a lawyer who served time in jail. Srettha denies wrongdoing.

Tycoon Srettha's case is among the factors that have heightened political uncertainty and roiled financial markets at a time of weak economic growth, with the prospect of political upheaval ahead if he is removed. 

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut Setboonsarng, Panu Wongcha-um and Napat Wesshasartar; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Martin Petty, Angus MacSwan and Mark Heinrich)