On Wednesday, August 7, Thailand’s Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of the Move Forward Party (MFP), ruling that its campaign pledge to amend the lese-majeste law violated the Constitution. That law makes it an offence, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, to criticize the country’s monarchy. The court also banished the party’s leaders from participating in politics for 10 years.
The court’s ruling, which cannot be appealed, could re-ignite the political unrest that emerged in 2020 from the rift between conservative, pro-military, pro-royalist forces on one side and younger and more progressive voices on the other. That rift deepened after the MFP won a surprise victory in the May 2023 general election and was then prevented from forming a government through parliamentary manoeuvres by the unelected and military- and monarchy-aligned senate. A nationwide poll in May 2024 showed that the MFP and its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, remain far more popular than any other political party or individual in Thailand.
On August 14, the Constitutional Court will rule on whether to remove the current prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, of the Pheu Thai Party, from office over another alleged Constitutional violation – in this case, a cabinet appointment of a Pheu Thai ally who has served time for bribery. Much like this week’s announcement, that decision could roil segments of the Thai population clamouring for political change.
• See our recent Dispatch on the history behind these political developments in Thailand and policy choices available for Canadian engagement with the country.
