Thai reformists brace for dissolution decision

Thailand’s election commission has asked the country’s Constitutional Court to dissolve the main opposition Kadima Party, citing its election campaign promise last year to change a strict law banning criticism of the country’s monarchy.

The Thai monarchy is at the heart of society and is enshrined in the country’s constitution, with the king enjoying a “revered cult status”.

Thailand’s Kadima Party won the most seats in last year’s general election, in part on a promise to amend the country’s lèse-majesté law, a move the election commission deemed an attempt to overthrow the country’s monarchy.

“The Electoral Commission considered the results of the study and analyzed the decision of the Constitutional Court. It unanimously decided to submit a petition to the Constitutional Court calling for the dissolution of the Light Party,” the commission said. in a statement.

Article 92 of Thailand’s Political Parties Act stipulates that if a court finds a political party guilty of attempting to overthrow the Thai monarchy, the Election Commission can collect evidence and petition the Constitutional Court to consider disbanding the political party. Under the law, the party’s MPs could also be banned from politics for 10 years if a court finds the party guilty.

Kadima Party spokesman Parit Wacharasindhu said they were innocent.

“We have no intention of overthrowing the democratic system with the king as head of state. We will prove our innocence in the Constitutional Court,” he told local media.

Last May, with the support of millions of young voters, the Kadima Party won the most seats in Thailand’s general election, including 32 of the 33 constituencies in the Thai capital Bangkok.

But after the election, Thailand’s military-appointed Senate blocked the party from leading the government because royalists refused to support the party’s position on changing royal defamation laws.

Kadima members later declined to comment further when contacted by VOA. The party argued that its campaign to change Thailand’s strict laws was aimed at preventing abuses and strengthening the country’s constitutional monarchy.

Thailand’s lèse-majesté law, Section 112 of the Penal Code, prohibits criticism of the monarchy and can result in lengthy prison sentences for those who violate it.

according to Thai Human Rights Lawyers Association According to the organization, from July 18, 2020, to January 2024, at least 263 people faced charges under Thailand’s Royal Defamation Law. In January, a 30-year-old Thai man was sentenced to a record 50 years in prison for breaking the law.

Some experts say the potential disbandment of Kadima and the accusations against it show that the party is seen as a significant threat to Thailand’s pro-royalist elite.

“The party will most likely be disbanded because conservative elites see the advance as an existential threat to the constitutional monarchy,” said Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on Southeast Asian politics and security.

He told VOA: “The party leadership has been preparing for this; after all that is what is happening with Future Forward. They will be re-registering soon.”

The Future Forward Party, the predecessor of the Kadima Party, controversially disbanded in 2020 after Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled that the party had accepted illegal donations.

The company executive was also banned from politics for 10 years, a decision that sparked protests in Thailand in 2020 and 2021, when hundreds of thousands of young demonstrators took to the streets of Bangkok calling for government and monarchy reform.

“The real issue is that this charismatic and well-known leader could be red-carded and banned from politics for ten years,” Abuza said of Kadima.

“This will be the second generation of banned leaders. This puts the new party in a weaker position when by-elections are held. There is also a real concern that voters, although supportive and sympathetic, will become frustrated and elect Get out politicians who can do the job. Represent their interests every day,” he added.

Former prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat is popular among her Forward supporters. But in addition to facing a decade-long political ban if his party dissolves, he has faced several other charges in recent months.

Although he faced the threat of political disqualification in January after being accused of owning shares in a media company, he and seven others were sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for two years, by a Thai court over a flash mob rally in 2019 .

VOA attempted to contact Pita for comment on the possible disbandment of Kadima, but has yet to receive a reply.

Any disbandment would only trigger a “rebirth” of the party, said political scientist Titipor Padivanichi of Ubon Ratchathani University’s School of Political Science.

“[It’s] No surprises. This just reflects the same old political games played against the Progressive Party. If the party disbands, it is not the end of Kadima, as we have seen in the case of Kadima in the future. Conservative moves against Forward will only reignite the party’s rebirth,” he told VOA.