Top Court Accepts New Case Against Pita & MFP Linked To Lese-Majeste Amendment Plan

Wires report that the Constitutional Court accepted a case against the Move Forward Party (MFP) and its leader Pita Limjaroenrat over their plans to amend Thailand's strict lese-majeste law. The top court gave the party and its leader 15 days to respond to the case, which seeks dissolution of the MFP.

• The new case is separate from a previously reported complaint filed with the Constitutional Court by the Election Commission, which claims that Pita may have knowingly applied for office despite being ineligible to do so. The Commission asked the top court to disqualify Pita as an MP pending its ruling.
• Pita told ThairathTV that he is not surprised by the Election Commission's decision to forward his case to the Constitutional Court. He said that he is still planning to appear in parliament tomorrow and is ready to answer all questions in during the six-hour debate ahead of the PM vote.
• Legal challenges to Pita and the MFP have been piling in the lead-up to the pivotal parliamentary meetings, which will decide the country's political fate. As things stand, it seems highly unlikely that Pita will be able to become Prime Minister tomorrow, but it is unclear who could be an alternative candidate.
• The dissolution of an anti-establishment party would not be unprecedented. The MFP is a successor to Future Forward Party (FFP), which was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2020. While a case over the party's alleged plan to overthrow the monarchy was dismissed, it was disbanded over breaches of regulations on political donations.