Kham” revealed his concern over the expressions of members of the Move Forward Party and groups of supporters of the Move Forward Party who expressed their opinions both inside and outside the parliament, fearing that it may be a violation of the court’s authority.
Mr. Karom Polpornklang, deputy government spokesman, revealed that the Constitutional Court has set August 7, 2024 as the date to hear the verdict of the Constitutional Court in the case of the EC filing a petition to dissolve the Move Forward Party, in accordance with the petition of Mr. Thirayuth Suwannakasorn, in the case of campaigning to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code.
Mr. Karom said that it must be admitted that there has never been a phenomenon where any political party dared to challenge the monarchy like the Move Forward Party. We know that the Move Forward Party came from the Future Forward Party. Before this, only the Communist Party of Thailand
was an enemy of the monarchy.
It is widely known that members of the Move Forwar
d Party, both inside and outside the parliament, have taken actions that may lead people to believe that they are significantly and procedurally undermining, destroying, and eroding the institution. In this regard, members of the Move Forward Party in the parliament have used their status as the legislative branch to attempt to amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code, which is a fence protecting the institution, so that it can be criticized, which is something that has never happened before. Many people wonder whether this kind of initiative is right or wrong, constructive or destructive to the institution, because even ordinary people still have Article 326 of the Criminal Code as a law protecting personal rights.
Mr. Karom continued that before the court made a ruling, society was watching the Move Forward Party members to see how they expressed themselves. The staging of a play outside the Constitutional Court, in the manner that the Constitutional Court had no power to dissolve political parties, could no
t be disbanded. If the people did not vote for that party, it would be dissolved itself. In such cases, if the case was in the process of the Court of Justice and the case was under consideration, such a play or expression in the court’s consideration of the case could be considered as contempt of court.
In addition, some MPs from political parties that are affiliated with the Move Forward Party have sent messages to foreign countries to keep an eye on the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the party dissolution case, saying that it is not international. This cannot be interpreted as using a foreign institution, even though it is just a small committee named after a city, to pressure the court. In my opinion, as a lawyer, no matter what the Constitutional Court thinks about the case of an opposition MP who acts like this, this is disrespecting the court organization that performs its duties according to the law. MPs must understand the court’s consideration system and its scope of power. However, if they know
and still act in such a manner, it may indicate an intention to bring in foreign organizations to pressure the court, which is dangerous. In fact, in principle, if a political party does not violate the law, the dissolution of a political party should not occur, just like the court should not sentence or execute people who have not committed any crimes.
Mr. Karom stated that according to the Political Party Act of 2017, Section 92, there are 4 cases of dissolution of political parties. Therefore, the Election Commission has the right to submit a request to dissolve a political party, especially (1) and (2), which are actions of a political party
that fall into the category of overthrowing the government, etc. It is an action that is hostile to the government, which almost no political party has ever done.
“The point is that when a political party is dissolved, members of the political party who are not party executives can move to a new party. The Move Forward Party is well aware of this, and I believe tha
t the party has already been set up in anticipation. If the Constitutional Court does not dare to dissolve a political party, if the political party violates the law, even though the law gives it the authority, because they are afraid of pressure, the social trends that they have created, or the foreign gaze that we are facing, in the future there may be a phenomenon where political parties campaign irresponsibly for the country and society. They may campaign to divide Thailand, they may campaign to abolish the monarchy, they may campaign to make children not respect their parents, they may campaign irresponsibly, issue policies that are harmful to the economy, society, and the country, and then use the influence of certain groups of people to pressure the court to not dare to dissolve the party that does this. In cases like this, I believe that Thailand will definitely be chaotic. I personally believe that August 7 is Rapee Day, the Father of Thai Law Day. I am confident that the court’s decision will be sup
ported by facts and law, with reason, and will be accepted by society,” Mr. Karom emphasized.
Source: Thai News Agency
