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ASEAN legislators blast MFP's dissolution as undermining democracy
An ASEAN parliamentarians' group has lambasted the "brazen decision" of Thailand's top court to disband the progressive MFP, which won the 2023 general election, as undermining the country's legislative process as well as political stability.
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A cutout of Pita Limjaroenrat, the former leader of the now-dissolved Move Forward Party, stands before a group of supporters on Aug. 7, 2024 at the party’s Bangkok headquarters. The popular politician said on Wednesday that he was “highly confident” of a favorable ruling before the country’s top court ruled to dissolve the MFP and ban Pita from national politics for 10 years. (AFP/Chanakarn Laosarakham)
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awmakers across Southeast Asian countries have lambasted the decision of Thailand’s Constitutional Court to dissolve the reformist Move Forward Party (MFP) as “absurd”, and warning that the move could undermine democracy.
On Wednesday, the court’s nine-member judicial panel voted unanimously to order the dissolution of the opposition party, which won last year's legislative election but was prevented from forming a government, over its call to amend Thailand’s sweeping lèse-majesté law.
Charges under the royal defamation law are extremely serious in the country, where King Maha Vajiralongkorn enjoys a quasi-divine status that places him above politics.
The court also banned members of the MFP executive board from politics for 10 years, including its current chair Chaithawat Tulathon and former leader Pita Limjaroenrat, stating that the party’s proposal jeopardized the constitutional monarchy and posed a threat to national security.
Mercy Barends, who chairs the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), expressed regret over the court's “brazen decision” to disband the MFP.
“Equating amendment proposals with efforts to ‘overthrow the monarchy’ is absurd and undermines the integrity of the parliamentary process,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This judiciary overreach not only undermines Thailand’s political stability but also tarnishes its international reputation. When people’s voices are disenfranchised, we start to lose in Thailand’s democratic integrity,” she added.
