The Constitutional Court is set to rule on Wednesday (January 24) whether Pita Limjaroenrat, the initial front-runner to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister, violated the charter by contesting last year’s election while holding shares in a media company.
The former leader of the reformist Move Forward Party is accused of holding 42,000 shares in iTV Plc when he registered to contest the May 2023 election. A guilty verdict would result in Pita being disqualified from office and losing his seat in Parliament.
It could also prompt the Election Commission (EC), which brought the case, to sue Pita for violating the election law, which states that anyone contesting an election while knowingly unqualified to do so faces one to 10 years in prison, a fine of 20,000-200,000 baht, and 20 years with no electoral rights.
An EC subcommittee earlier suggested that criminal action against…
