Thailand’s election body has said it will seek the dissolution of a pro-reform party that won the most votes in last year’s election, saying there is evidence the party “undermines the democratic system with the king as the head of state.”
Move Forward came top in last year’s election after promising major reforms, including to amend Thailand’s draconian lese-majesty law, under which criticism of the powerful royal family can lead to up to 15 years in prison. However, the party was blocked from taking power by military-appointed senators and has faced legal cases.
The Election Commission’s latest statement follows a constitutional court ruling in January, which said that Move Forward’s pledge to reform the lese-majesty law was unlawful and that it must cease all such efforts. The constitutional court will now need to decide whether to accept the case. If the party is dissolved, its leaders could be banned from politics for 10 years.
Read more here.
