The Constitutional Court of Thailand ruled Wednesday that the opposition Move Forward Party’s (MFP) efforts to change the country’s royal insult law are illegal, ordering a cessation of any attempts to push for change. The ruling creates the potential for political bans on the party and its members if found in violation of the law.
The case stems from a petition that alleged the MFP violated the “lèse-majesté” law during the country’s 2023 elections. The campaign saw the party run on a platform of reform, including promises to make changes to Section 112 of the Criminal Code. The law stipulates, “Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.” One man recently received 50 years in jail for social media posts that were deemed to be defamatory towards the royal family.
The law has frequently been used as a weapon to crack down on political dissent, opposition parties and activists critical of the government within the country. Just earlier this month, Aaron Nampa, a Thai activist and lawyer was sentenced to four years in jail for criticizing King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s, spending habits and extravagant displays of wealth.
In a statement on social media, the MFP denied that they had intended to cause harm to the country or were trying to overthrow the constitutional monarchy. They insisted that the ruling would have problematic consequences for both democracy and the monarchy in the future and would make the functioning of government more difficult. Move Forward leader Chaithawat Tulathon insisted that while the party would accept the ruling ,it would lead to a “loss of political space” that could draw the supposedly neutral monarchy further into politics by making them a “factor” behind other political conflicts.
As it stands, Palang Pracharath Party member Ruangkrai Leekitwattana has vowed to petition for the dissolution of the MFP for violating the lese-majeste law and to ban party leaders from participating in politics. Ruangkrai twice petitioned to have the party dissolved last year but the court dismissed the attempts.
The MFP, born out of the ashes of the Future Movement Party, which was dissolved in 2020 as a result of a Constitutional Court ruling, won a significant number of seats in 2023 but was unable to seat prime minister candidate Pita Limjaroenrat while facing entrenched opposition from conservative elements in the government. It now faces a similar fate despite a wide base of support from Thai youth and Pita’s victory in a recent court case that sought to ban him from politics for electoral violations.
