Thai Court Disbands Opposition Party Over Royal Reform Push
- Move Forward Party dissolved for election rule violation
- Pita, other party executives banned from politics for 10 years
Pita Limjaroenrat outside the Constitutional Court in Bangkok on Aug. 7.
Photographer: Andre Malerba/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Thailand’s top court ordered dissolution of the nation’s largest opposition party for violating election rules, in a verdict that risks igniting fresh political turmoil in the Southeast Asian nation.
The nine-member Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that Move Forward Party’s poll promise to amend the lese majeste law, which protects the royal family from criticism, violated election rules. The court also banned its top executives, including prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat and opposition leader Chaithawat Tulathon, from political activities or running for public office for 10 years.