Thai court to hear EC plea as a party nominates princess for polls

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Thursday agreed to hear an Election Commission petition seeking to dissolve a political party for nominating Princess Ubolratana Mahidol as candidate for the post of the Prime Minister in the upcoming polls.

The party had on last Friday filed the nomination of Princess Ubolratana, King Maha Vajiralongkorn's elder sister, for March 24 polls. It was the first time a close relative of a Thai monarch was to contest polls.

But her candidacy was invalidated by the Election Commission after the King called her involvement in politics "highly inappropriate".

The poll panel on Wednesday moved the Constitutional Court seeking to dissolve the opposition Thai Raksa Chart Party. The court decided to accept the petition on Thursday and gave the party seven days to submit a written defence, a statement said. The court will convene to hear the matter again on February 27, Efe news reported.

The dissolution of the party would mean banning members of its executive (including Ubolratana) from politics for 10 years and will also prevent them from contesting the upcoming elections even if they join another party.