Thai reformist party ‘confident’ in dissolution case

BANGKOK: Thailand´s thwarted election winner Pita Limjaroenrat said Sunday he is confident of winning a court case that could see his party dissolved over its pledge to reform the kingdom´s tough royal insult laws.

Pita´s reformist Move Forward Party (MFP) won most seats in last year´s general election, but conservative senators stopped him becoming prime minister partly because of the push to change the laws shielding King Maha Vajiralongkorn from criticism.

The kingdom´s Constitutional Court is considering a petition to dissolve MFP, but on Sunday Pita outlined the party´s nine-point defence, saying he believed the case would not go against them.

“I´m extremely confident with my nine arguments. Our nine arguments focus on the jurisdiction and the process,” he told reporters.

Thailand has a history of judicial intervention in politics and in 2020 MFP´s predecessor party, the Future Forward Party, was wound up by court order over finance issues.

Pita warned that dissolving MFP -- the largest single party in parliament -- could have serious repercussions.

“That means an attack on democracy,” he said.

“It´s not just me personally, it´s not just the party, but it´s really about the discussion about democratic space here in Thailand.”

Thailand´s election commission asked the Constitutional Court to dissolve MFP in March, after an earlier ruling by the court that the party´s pledge to reform lese-majeste laws amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy. The court will hold a hearing in the case on Wednesday, but is not expected to give a ruling.