One of fugitive billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra’s parties has now been dissolved and its leaders barred from politics for a decade.
By Paritta Wangkiat and Shibani Mahtani Shibani Mahtani Reporter covering Southeast Asia Email Bio Follow March 7 at 6:22 AM BANGKOK — Thailand’s constitutional court on Thursday banned a political party that nominated a princess as its candidate for prime minister, a major blow to a movement aligned with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra ahead of crucial elections.
Replying to a supporter on her popular Instagram page after the verdict, Ubolratana called the dissolution of the party “sad and depressing.” Rights activists pointed out that the election commission, which referred the case, took only a day to make its decision that the party should be dissolved. The constitutional court did not have a full trial before making its ruling.
The party argued to the court that it was Ubolratana’s decision to run for prime minister. On her Instagram page, she has said that she merely wanted to work for the good of the people and that her candidacy should not have caused “problems.” Ubolratana gave up her royal titles in 1972 when she married an American, but upon their divorce she returned to Thailand in 2001, resumed royal duties and ran a youth-focused charity.
The vote will pit supporters of the Thaksin movement and other newer parties that oppose the military government against parties aligned with the junta and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is seeking to keep his post. “It is a problem,” said Sudarat Keyuraphan, leader of the Pheu Thai Party, in an interview ahead of the constitutional court’s decision. But, she added, “if there isn’t Thai Raksa Chart, the vote [of those who support it] will go back to another party on our side.”
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