Thai court dissolves opposition party
The Constitutional Court yesterday dissolved an opposition party that has been critical of the military establishment and banned its charismatic leader from politics for 10 years over a loan he gave the party.
The dissolution of the Future Forward Party comes less than a year after the country held a general election and it strengthens the position of a coalition led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan o Cha.
Future Forward, led by autoparts billionaire heir Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 41, has been sharply critical of military dominance of politics.
The court ruled that the party broke the law by taking a 191.2 million baht (US$6.08 million) loan from Thanathorn.
“The party is ordered to be dissolved according to the 2017 political party law,” said Constitutional Court Judge Panya Utchachon.
Thanathorn and 15 party executives were also banned from politics for 10 years.
The party and Thanathorn have denied any wrongdoing
Most of the members of parliament will retain their seats and can form a new party, but the ban on its leaders will reduce the opposition’s votes and its ability to block Prayuth’s agenda.
Some Future Forward supporters at the party’s headquarters burst into tears when the court’s decision was announced.
“I’m a bit lost at the moment. If Thanathorn decides to continue the fight, we will stick with him. We won’t let him fight alone,” said Wanna Butrkan, 55.
Human rights groups and democracy advocates condemned the court’s decision.
“Last year’s election was supposed to bring an end to military rule, but after today, no one is fooled into believing this is the case,” said Francisca Castro, a Philippine lawmaker and member of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights.