The opposition Move Forward party is once again asking the Constitutional Court to conduct a session to inquire into the party’s dissolution case, so that the party can have the opportunity to bring forth witnesses instead of just submitting written statements in its defense.
Party leader Chaithawat Tulathon stated that the case against the party is more serious than the one on which the Constitutional Court has already ruled, which ordered the party to stop its efforts to amend the lèse majesté law.
The pending case, submitted to the court by the Election Commission, seeks to dissolve the party and banish the party’s executive committee members from politics for up to ten years, explained Chaithawat.
Due to the differing severity of the two cases, he argued that the party needs more time to defend itself, claiming that the 15-day extension granted by the charter court is inadequate. Nevertheless, he mentioned that the party will do its utmost within the limited time provided.
The Move Forward party leader emphasizes that the fact-finding process, to determine whether the party should be dissolved, has not been finalized yet, particularly regarding the allegation of the party attempting to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.
Chaithawat also mentioned that the party’s MPs are not overly worried about the possibility of dissolution by the court, having discussed the matter within the party on multiple occasions.
The party is set to submit its written defense to the court on May 20, following the court’s agreement to extend the deadline by 15 days.
