The Move Forward party’s advisory chief, Pita Limjaroenrat, accused the Election Commission (EC) today of practicing double standards by fast-tracking its case for the party’s dissolution to the Constitutional Court, without giving the party a chance to defend itself.
The main opposition party has been fighting to avoid being dissolved, and its executive committee being debarred from politics for ten years by the charter court, for allegedly attempting to topple the constitutional monarchy through its election campaign promise to amend the country’s lèse majesté law.
Pita said that the EC’s petition to the charter court is illegal, because its central allegation is based on the court’s ruling 3/2567, dated January 31, which is a separate case.
He cited the charter court’s ruling in 2010, which dismissed the EC’s call for the dissolution of the Democrat party, claiming that the EC had bypassed some procedures.
Former Move Forward party leader Pita said that the EC petitioned the court, seeking the party’s dissolution, without allowing it to defend itself and, therefore, its petition is invalid.
The party has rebutted the EC’s decision to proceed to the charter court by, among other things, challenging the authority of the EC to do so and the severity of the proposed penalties vis-a-vis its alleged offences. The court is scheduled to hear the case on July 3 and July 9.
