The progressive Thai Move Forward Party won the election this year but was not allowed to form the government. On Monday (Dec. 25), the party said it was hopeful about a court case that would look into campaign promises to change laws about royal insults.
The May election gave the Move Forward Party the most votes, but conservatives in the upper house of parliament stopped their leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, from becoming prime minister.
The party’s promise to change Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws scared the mostly royalist and pro-military senators, whose members were chosen by the previous junta.
The Constitutional Court is looking at a petition that says the Move Forward Party’s promise to change lese-majeste rules is an attempt to get rid of the constitutional monarchy.
Pita was the leader of the Move Forward Party during the election but has since stepped down. On Monday, he testified at a meeting and said it “went well.”
“If you look at the accusations and the scope of the laws, the worst thing that could happen is that the Constitutional Court would tell us to stop the campaigning to change the law,” Pita said, denying that the party was in danger of being broken up.
The court said that it would decide the case on January 31.
In May, the Move Forward Party won an unexpected election with the help of young Thais and people living in cities who were tired of almost ten years of military rule.
But Pita was blocked from the prime minister job and the Move Forward Party was shut out of government as the Pheu Thai party of veteran playmaker Thaksin Shinawatra took power in alliance with pro-military parties.
Pita is also facing another case in the Constitutional Court. This one is trying to keep him out of politics because he owns shares in a media company, which is against the law for Th