(CTN News) – Thailand’s Move Forward Party says its ideas and spirit are unbroken, despite a likely court order to dissolve the election winners on August 7.
“If the Move Forward Party is disbanded, (the ruling) will not change people’s minds or make them lose hope because Move Forward Party has become a political institution, regardless of how many generations (of voters) and party leaders have passed,” MFP deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakul said in a video clip posted on the party’s Facebook page on Sunday.
“The spirit of the Future Forward Party (Move Forward’s predecessor) and Move Forward shall remain intact, whatever name the party has.”
MFP spokesman Parit Wacharasindhu stated that the party’s dissolution will cause more people to recognise “irregularities” in society, resulting in more support for the party’s social and political program.
The eight-minute trailer regarding the imminent dissolution case was accompanied by a caption that stated that the party’s current situation is similar to that of the Future Forward Party four years ago.
“Disbanding a political party terminates a legal organisation but does not quiet its ideas. “We will move forward regardless of what happens on August 7,” the caption read.
The Constitutional Court concluded in January that Move Forward Party’s aim to modify the lese-majeste legislation, which protects the monarchy from criticism, was a covert attempt to undermine the crown, and ordered the group to discontinue its campaign.
The Election Commission (EC) has filed a complaint against the party, which could result in its dissolution. The verdict is expected on August 7.
ORIGINAL STORY: Will Move Forward Party Survive? Pita Limjaroenrat Faces Legal Challenges
Pita Limjaroenrat, principal adviser to the Move Forward Party, believes the party will survive the approaching dissolution case. However, he cautions that a separate inquiry could demolish the main opposition party.
Pita Limjaroenrat, who led Move Forward Party to victory in last year’s election but was prevented from assuming power by army-appointed senators, claimed that the conservative elite was once again exercising its might to constrain popular leaders.
“This is the seventh vicious cycle in twenty years. It’s a mechanism that the conservative elites have devised to keep elected officials at bay,” he told Reuters in a recent interview in an office at parliament, amid the clamor of MPs debating in its halls.
Move Forward’s Popularity and Political Landscape
“It’s almost like an old record playing the same song over and over again.”
Thailand’s politics have been defined by a two-decade-long conflict between the conservative-royalist establishment, backed by the military, and popular political groups such as Move Forward Party .
In January, the Constitutional Court found that Move Forward’s aim to change the lese-majeste legislation, which protects the monarchy from criticism, was a covert attempt to undermine the crown and ordered it to cease its campaign.
Source: Bangkok Post
