BANGKOK (TIP): Thailand’s main opposition party relaunched on August 9 with a new name and leader, after its old version won the popular vote in last year’s elections but was forced by a court to disband this week. The new party will be led by tech entrepreneur Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut and known as “Prachachon”, which means “People”, party representative Parit Wacharasindhu told journalists in Bangkok. The party will be referred to as “People’s Party” in English.
“The reason for this name is because we would like to be a party by the people, from the people, for the people, to move Thailand forward so that people can be the supreme power.”
The Constitutional Court voted unanimously on Wednesday to dissolve the Move Forward Party (MFP), the vanguard of the country’s youthful pro-democracy movement, and to ban its executive board members from politics for 10 years.
Among those banned was 43-year-old Pita Limjaroenrat, who led the reformist MFP to a surprising first place in a general election last year, after resonating with young and urban voters through his pledge to reform Thailand’s strict royal defamation law.
Pita’s political career was already shaken in March when Thailand’s election commission asked the top court to dissolve the MFP.
That followed a ruling that the party’s pledge to reform the lese-majeste law amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.
Lese-majeste charges are extremely serious in Thailand, where King Maha Vajiralongkorn enjoys a quasi-divine status that places him above politics.
The European Union, United States, United Nations and human rights groups blasted the court’s decision, which the EU said harmed democratic openness in Thailand.
‘Change government’
Parit said there was “still space” to talk about the lese-majeste law, even though the Constitutional Court had dissolved the MFP due it campaigning to reform the laws.
“What we saw as a problem in lese-majeste is still a problem now,” Parit said, when asked about the party’s stance on the laws.
Natthaphong, who has more than 10 years of experience in computer science and IT business, according to his Linkedin profile, said he was ready to become Thailand’s next prime minister after the next national election in 2027. (AFP)