Thai court disbands opposition party and bans leader over plans to reform royal rules

Pita Limjaroenrat’s Move Forward won an election in 2023 but was blocked from power and had been calling to amend strict lèse-majesté laws

Thailand’s hugely popular opposition party has been disbanded and its leader banned from politics in a court ruling that has been branded “devastating and deeply disappointing”.
The progressive Move Forward Party won a surprise victory in 2023, but their bid to lead a coalition government was thwarted by the conservative establishment nervous about proposed reforms.
On Wednesday, that powerful bloc delivered a final hammer blow. The constitutional court unanimously agreed to dissolve the party, ruling Move Forward’s moderate calls to amend Thailand’s stringent lèse-majesté laws constituted an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.
The decision was widely expected, after the court in January concluded Move Forward’s suggested reforms were tantamount to treason. The  lèse-majesté rules prevent any criticism of the monarchy – an offence punishable with 15 years in jail – but human rights groups say it has been widely misused to quell opposition.
“Today’s outcome appears inevitable, other parties were dissolved for more trivial charges,” said Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute, a think tank based in Singapore.
“But it is also devastating and deeply disappointing. This is a grim reminder that democracy in Thailand is a sham. First, the party was blocked from power by forces appointed by the junta. Now that party is dissolved which, in effect, disenfranchises the 14 million voters who supported the party in 2023.”
As well as dissolving Move Forward, the court banned senior figures from politics for a decade, including the charismatic former leader Pita Limjaroenrat. The 142 surviving Move Forward MP’s now have 60 days to move to a new party.
This is not the first time political parties have fallen foul of Thailand’s constitutional court – 34 have been dissolved since 2006. Most recently Move Forward’s predecessor, Future Forward Party, was disbanded after being charged with violations of election laws.
That verdict led to months of protests in 2020. It is not clear if the same will unfold this time. Many of the activists that led the demonstrations are in jail, having been charged with lèse-majesté breaches while others are planning to channel their frustrations into support for the party that will replace Move Forward.
Mathis Lohatepanont, a political analyst, said: “It is still too early to tell what will happen in the short term. However, recent history has shown that party dissolutions have acted more as temporary speed-bumps rather than permanent obstacles.”