Thai reformist Pita returns to parliament after court win

Thai opposition politician Pita Limjaroenrat returned to parliament yesterday, a day after a court cleared him of breaching election laws in a case that could have seen him barred from politics.

Pita's Move Forward Party (MFP) upended Thai politics by winning the most seats in last year's general election, but the 43-year-old was blocked from becoming prime minister by conservative forces opposed to his reformist agenda.

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled he had not violated laws banning lawmakers from owning shares in media companies, reinstating him as an MP – after he was suspended in July.

As he returned to parliament, Pita told reporters it felt "good to be back".

He took aim at two of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's flagship policies: a plan to give all Thais money via a "digital wallet" and an ambitious scheme to link the Andaman Sea with the Gulf of Thailand with a "land bridge" for cargo.

"For the digital wallet scheme, I agree that our Thai economy is stagnated. It is the slowest in a decade," he said.

"I want to invite the Thai government to rethink. It doesn't require money-giving – we should stimulate the economy from bottom to top."

Despite winning most seats, MFP was shut out of the governing coalition formed by Srettha's Pheu Thai party.

Pita has insisted he will run again for the top office, but he will return to the Constitutional Court next week for another case challenging the legality of MFP's campaign pledge to reform Thailand's tough royaldefamation laws. — AFP