Thailand Constitutional Court Moves to Amend Royal Defamation Law, Decides to Dissolve Ruling Party (Comprehensive)

Order to Opposition Party Jeonjin Party
Political Activities of Leadership Banned for Next 10 Years

Thailand's Constitutional Court has ordered the dissolution of the Move Forward Party (MFP), the ruling party and opposition party that pushed for the amendment of the lese-majeste law.

Pita Limjaroenrat, former leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP) [Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

On the 7th (Korean time), according to foreign media including CNN, the Thai Constitutional Court accepted the Election Commission's request to dissolve the Move Forward Party and made this ruling. The court also banned political activities of the party leadership, including former leader Pita Limjaroenrat, for the next 10 years.

Previously, the Move Forward Party won the most seats in the general election last May by proposing a radical pledge to amend the lese-majeste law. However, candidate Pita, who was the leader at the time, failed to pass the parliamentary prime minister election vote due to opposition from the conservative camp, resulting in a failure to take power.

In January, the Thai Constitutional Court ruled that the push to amend the lese-majeste law constituted an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy and declared it unconstitutional. Subsequently, following a petition from conservative figures, the Election Commission filed a dissolution trial request against the Move Forward Party with the Constitutional Court in March.

Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, known as the lese-majeste law, stipulates a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment for insulting members of the royal family or the achievements of the monarchy, or for negative depictions of the royal family. In Thailand, where the king is revered as sacred, the conservative royalist faction considers the lese-majeste law an inviolable domain, but reform forces have demanded its amendment or abolition.

The Move Forward Party is the successor to the Future Forward Party (FFP), which was dissolved in 2020 for violating the Political Parties Act. After the dissolution of the FFP, anti-government protests intensified mainly on university campuses, and demands for the amendment of the taboo lese-majeste law and reform of the monarchy emerged.