Global Courant
Thailand’s Election Commission has announced it will investigate Pita Limjaroenrat, the frontrunner in May’s general election, to determine whether he has broken election rules that would disqualify him from becoming the country’s next prime minister.
The investigation, announced last week, focuses on Mr Pita’s shares in iTV, a company that used to be a news channel but now focuses on advertising. Mr Pita, 42, said he inherited the shares from his father. Thai law prohibits parliamentary candidates from owning media shares.
Thailand’s Election Commission said it will take 60 days to certify the result of the vote, after which the House of Representatives and the military-appointed Senate are expected to jointly vote for the prime minister in August.
But a month after Thai voters sharply rebuked the military junta and handed Pita’s Move Forward Party a decisive victory, his fate as elected leader remained unclear. Here’s what you need to know about the research.
What’s at stake?
Activists say the case against Mr Pita and the Move Forward Party is part of a wider effort to reverse the election results and erode democracy in Thailand.
May’s elections saw record turnout and were seen by many as a vote against military rule. It also showed broad support for Move Forward, one of the few major political parties in Southeast Asia with a progressive platform.
Arnon Nampa, a prominent Thai human rights lawyer, wrote on Facebook Saturday that “people take to the streets when the Thai elite renders elections meaningless.”
Mr Pita’s party wants to overhaul the old power structures that have dominated Thailand for decades, cut the army’s budget, abolish conscription and weaken a law that criminalizes criticism of the Thai monarchy.
Move Forward has also said it wants to abolish monopolies, which threaten the fate of the country’s wealthy aristocrats.
What happens now?
On June 20, a Senate committee will review the Election Commission’s order to investigate Mr Pita, according to Senator Seree Suwanpanont.
A former election commissioner, Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, said the iTV case could go to the Constitutional Court if at least 50 MPs or 25 senators sign a petition against Pita’s candidacy for prime minister.
Even before this case, Mr. Pita was contending with a stubborn Senate that was unlikely to support him as prime minister. Mr Somchai wrote on Facebook that the investigation could now lead to more senators refusing to support him.
If Pita’s bid for the premiership fails, Pheu Thai, the second-largest party in Pita’s coalition, could put forward a candidate of its own as an alternative. Many expect Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister now living in exile, to be in the running.
Pheu Thai could also break away from Move Forward to form a new coalition more aligned with conservative parties. Pheu Thai has denied such plans.
Has this happened before?
Mr Pita’s case mirrors a lawsuit filed against his predecessor, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, in 2019. That year, the Constitutional Court disqualified Mr Thanathorn from his election post because he was found to have shares in a media company. He unsuccessfully argued that he had sold the shares to his mother before running for parliament.
Mr Thanathorn was the leader of the Future Forward Party, which was dissolved in 2020 by the Constitutional Court and is the predecessor of the Move Forward Party.
Last week, the Election Commission rejected several complaints from critics of Mr Pita seeking to disqualify his candidacy, but the commission decided to launch its own criminal investigation to find out whether Mr Pita was running for parliament knowing he was ineligible because of its iTV shares. .
If found guilty, Mr. Pita could face up to 10 years in prison and a 20-year ban on voting.
On Tuesday, Mr Pita told reporters he was confident in his legal position and said the investigation “will not be an obstacle to becoming Thailand’s 30th prime minister”.
What are the details of the complaint?
Move Forward Party politicians have said the case is a blatant attempt to prevent them from forming a new government and taking back power from the conservative establishment and the military-appointed senate.
Earlier this month, Mr. Pita posted on Facebook that iTV had not been active as a media company since March 2007.
Thailand has been rocked by a leaked audio recording released over the weekend of an iTV shareholders’ meeting on April 26. In the recording, the company’s president tells a shareholder that iTV is no longer in the media business.
But the recording contradicts the minutes of the same meeting, in which the president calls iTV a media entity. Those minutes are included in the complaint against Mr. Pita.
In his Facebook post, Mr Pita said the shareholder had asked the question a few days before running for the premiership and suggested the inquiry was politically motivated.
Muktita Suhartono contributed reporting.
