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Politics, in Thailand and elsewhere, has often been perceived as a dirty game. As the Thai saying goes, politics is dirty (“การเมืองเป็นเรื่องสกปรก”) and filled with wicked people.
This is what Thais would lament, with a sigh, when they hear about the Electoral Commission (EC)’s petition to the Constitutional Court to dissolve the Move Forward Party (MFP), on the basis of the Constitutional Court’s ruling last January that the party’s campaign to amend Section 112 – Thailand’s infamous royal anti-defamation law – was unconstitutional.
Move Forward Party Leader Chaithawat Tulathon said he hoped that the Constitutional Court will provide the party with the opportunity to argue their case before the court, so that they can prove that they had no intention to overthrow the country’s constitutional monarchy with their campaign to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code.
But one must recognise the obvious: the verdict is fait accompli. For the Constitutional Court and the EC, which are puportedly independent but often seen as guardians of the old establishment, MFP’s dissolution has already been all but decided. Anyone who says otherwise is not an optimist, but an idealist.
This is all the more true for MFP than other political parties that have been dissolved in the past, because MFP’s progressive agenda threatened the old guard in ways that others have not; for the first time, the party discussed the lese majeste law. This is considered unacceptable by the conservative establishment, which has zealously guarded and upheld the law. Amending or repealing it, they say, tears apart the social fabric of Thailand and sows division among the monarchy and the people. The proposal to reduce the offences related to this law amounts to reduction of the institution’s protection. In this society where the monarchy is regarded as the “untouchable” pillar of the nation above politics and all its related squabbles, this is one of the most serious offences one can be charged with.
Whether you agree with this interpretation, or whether you think that this is a mere excuse to continue using Section 112 as a political tool to stifle opposition, this perspective explains why it is no surprise that the conservative forces are hell-bent on keeping MFP out of power. It is (at least partly) why the military-backed senate refused to endorse MFP’s then-leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister, despite winning last year’s general election. It is why the Constitutional Court has already controversially decided that MFP’s mere discussion of the legal amendment was unconstitutional – a wide interpretation that prompted concerns of judicial overreach in the legislative process. And it is why, utilising the rationale of that decision, the EC has now asked the Court to dissolve the party.
Indeed, political parties have been dissolved for less controversial reasons – including MFP’s predecessor Future Forward Party, which was dissolved by the same court on a technicality on donations and election laws. In its aftermath – which is also likely to happen here – the party’s executive members were banned from politics for ten years.
However, one would be mistaken to assume that recognizing a foregone conclusion means resignation to its consequences.
Yes, parties have been voted out before, but not quite in this context where the conservative forces are this motivated to keep a party out. MFP’s impending dissolution is part of broader change that has gripped Thai politics for the past few years – of dissatisfaction among the younger generation on how things are done under the old guard, of discussion being broached for the first time about the role of the monarchy in society, and of dissent spreading after prosecution of pro-democracy activists under Section 112.
This is also set at the backdrop of time ticking towards the end of the era of the military-backed senate on May 11. It will play no more role in electing a prime minister. As local provinces scramble to set elections, the public looks on with anticipation. What this means for MFP or its future incarnation, it is not certain. But it is a shadow of the old guard’s past that we are finally moving out of – not completely, not fully, but one step at a time.
Given this, the dissolution can be more than a part of the usual cycle of political parties being dissolved, and new ones being set up along the same political lines. The court of law may rule against MFP, but the court of public opinion remains in its favour.
There are many junctures in history, and in each one, we make do the best we can from the events that play out before us. The Future Forward Party’s dissolution in 2020 sparked widespread street protests, where people were willing to protest under Thailand’s stifling heat. The then-dissolution of the popular party, and the sense among young voters that the system is rigged against them, was in part momentum for MFP’s success in last year’s general elections.
Yes, in the short term, MFP will obviously set back, with MFP’s party members scurrying to find other parties after its dissolution and being offered lucrative deals to do so. But MFP will return again under a different guise, just like how the Future Forward party returned as MFP. We must remember that progression towards democracy or justice – indeed, those two terms are not mutually inclusive – is not linear. In politics and in life, in times when it feels as if the system has been rigged against us, it is more important than ever to simply show up.
On the cusp of MFP’s almost-certain imminent dissolution, we have yet to see how the consequences will play out. Will this be just another event, in this often-dirty game of politics that we often do not pay as much attention to as we should? Or will this be momentum for MFP’s new incarnate to win the next round of general elections – and this time, with no military-backed senate to hold them back from office?
Whether MFP’s dissolution will be just another forgotten footnote in Thailand’s turbulent political history, or whether it will be part of a broader change towards the society Thais truly want, remains up to us. The important thing is that we remember; that we consistently show up to speak out; and that when the time comes, we head to the polling stations.