Thailand's reformist Move Forward Party regroups as People's Party

Just two days after being disbanded by court order Thailands main progressive political party regrouped Friday under a new name and vowed to continue its fight for reforms despite continuing opposition from the conservative establishment that blocked the party from taking power despite finishing first in last years electionLeaders of the dissolved Move Forward Party announced they were forming a new party to be called the Peoples mdash or Prachachon mdash PartyCritics say the partys dissolution was the latest attack on the countrys progressive movement in a yearslong legal campaign by conservative forcesThailands Constitutional Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled that the Move Forward Party violated the constitution by proposing to amend a law that criminalises insulting the royal familyIt also banned former Move Forward executives including popular former chief Pita Limjaroenrat from politics for 10 yearsMove Forward won the most seats in the 2023 general election but conservative militaryappointed Senators voted down its candidate for prime minister The partys surprise victory was seen as reflecting a widespread desire for democratic reforms especially among younger voters after years of military ruleLawmakers of a dissolved political party who are not banned from politics can keep their seats in Parliament if they join another party within 60 days Move Forward had 148 lawmakers in Parliament but five are nowbanned executives who cannot continue to serveSpeaking at the new partys inaugural meeting attended by the 143 remaining MPs and other party members lawmaker Parit Wacharasindhu announced that the reformed party would be named the Peoples Party because it wants to be ldquoa party from the people and for the people and to work on creating a Thailand where absolute power belongs to the peoplerdquo He named five new executive board members including the new partys leader 37yearold IT expert Natthaphong RuengpanyawutNatthaphong told the crowd the party would pursue the ambitious goal of winning enough seats to form a singleparty government in the next elections in 2027Wednesdays court ruling drew international concernldquoThis decision disenfranchises the more than 14 million Thais who voted for the Move Forward Party in the May 2023 election and raises questions about their representation within Thailands electoral systemrdquo said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller ldquoThe Constitutional Courts decision also jeopardizes Thailands democratic progress and runs counter to the aspirations of the Thai people for a strong democratic future ldquoThe United States does not take a position in support of any political party but as a close ally and friend with deep and enduring ties we urge Thailand to take actions to ensure fully inclusive political participation and to protect democracy and the freedoms of association and expressionrdquo he saidThe European Union issued a similar statementVolker Tuumlrk the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the courts ruling ldquowas deeply troubling and undermines democratic processes and restricts political pluralismrdquo ldquoThis decision seriously impacts fundamental freedoms of expression and association and peoples right to participate in public affairs and political life in Thailandrdquo said Tuumlrk ldquoNo party or politician should ever face such penalties for peacefully advocating legal reform particularly in support of human rights Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told reporters on Thursday that he expects Move Forward to respect the courts ruling and to find an appropriate way to continue its workWhen asked about the international reaction to the partys dissolution Srettha said he understood that concerns were expressed in a spirit of goodwill but they dont mean anything because we have sovereignty and our own ways in terms of political and democratic developmentsrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever