Thailand’s constitutional court has ruled that a pro-reform opposition figure whose party was blocked from taking power last year did not violate election law and can be reinstated as an MP.
The court rejected a complaint brought against Pita Limjaroenrat by conservative politicians that he had violated election law by owning shares in a media company.
Pita’s Move Forward party stunned observers by winning the most votes and most seats in last year’s election after promising to reform the military, break up big business and amend a law that bans criticism of the powerful royal family.
However, Move Forward was blocked from taking power by lawmakers aligned with the royalist military establishment. Legal complaints were filed against the party and Pita, leaving him suspended as an MP.
The 43-year-old denied any wrongdoing in Wednesday’s case, saying the shares were inherited from his late father, and that iTV, the company in question, had not operated as a media business since 2007.
His stake is minute (0.0035%) and would not have granted him influence, he said before the court hearing. The court ruled by eight votes to one that Pita had not broken rules banning members of parliament from owning shares in media companies.
As Pita left the court building, supporters wearing orange, the colour of Move Forward, cheered and chanted “Prime Minister Pita” – a position he was blocked from taking last year, but has said he believes he can win in future elections.
Pita said he wanted to return to parliament “as soon as possible” but added that he needed to wait for official permission. “I will continue to work for the people. My first plan now is to hold a press conference on Move Forward’s agenda going forwards,” he told reporters.
Pita and Move Forward face a separate complaint alleging their policy to amend lese-majesty, which outlaws criticism of the royal family, is tantamount to seeking to overthrow the constitutional monarchy. The court will issue a verdict in the case next week. If it rules against Move Forward, the party would be ordered to abandon its policy commitment to change the law.
Asked how he felt before the verdict, which is due to be announced on 31 January, Pita said he felt confident “because of the facts and the legal basis”.
Move Forward’s pledge to reform lese-majesty was a siginificant reason why the military-appointed senate blocked Pita’s bid to become prime minister last year, pushing his party into opposition.
More than 260 people, including children, have been prosecuted under the law since youth-led protests called for reforms to the powerful monarchy, including the scrapping of the lese-majesty law, in 2020.
Last week, a man was given a 50-year prison sentence for criticising the monarchy – the longest sentence handed down for the offence, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Move Forward’s predecessor, Future Forward, was previously dissolved by a constitutional court ruling for breaching funding rules, while its former leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was disqualified as an MP for also holding shares in a media company in a case he claimed was politically motivated.
