Thai Court Rules Against Move Forward Party's Campaign to Amend Royal Insult Law
The ruling, which effectively silences the party's public discussion on amending the lese majeste law, opens a potential path to the party's dissolution but does not diminish its popularity.
- Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled that the Move Forward Party's campaign promise to amend the lese majeste law, which criminalizes insults and threats to the monarchy, was an attempt to overthrow the monarchy.
- The court ordered the party to cease any activity in violation of Section 49 of the Constitution, effectively putting a gag order on Move Forward regarding lese majeste.
- The ruling does not disband the Move Forward Party, but opens a new legal path that could potentially lead to its dissolution.
- Move Forward's leader Chaithawat Tulathon warned that the ruling could make the royal institution increasingly a factor behind conflicts in Thai politics.
- Despite the ruling, the popularity of the reformist-progressive platform is evident from Move Forward's election success in 2023 and its diligent legislative record as an opposition party.
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