Disbanded Thai opposition Move Forward to form new party, denies antagonising monarchy

BANGKOK — Thailand's disbanded Move Forward Party will form a new party this week, its leaders said on Aug 7, adding that it did not antagonise the constitutional monarchy as described in a court ruling that ordered the party's dissolution.

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Aug 7 ordered the dissolution of Move Forward, ruling that its campaign to amend a law that protects the monarchy from criticism risked undermining the democratic system.

Hours after the decision, leader Chaithawat Tulathon told a media conference that the court ruling had set a dangerous precedent for the way the Constitution is interpreted.

Leaders of the disbanded opposition party announced that the surviving 143 lawmakers would regroup and form a new party on Aug 9, as they did in 2020, when predecessor Future Forward was dissolved over a campaign funding violation.

Deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakul said the new vehicle, which would be the biggest party in Parliament, would take on the same core ideology and would not neglect its promises to the electorate.

"We will not abandon our dream and our mission and duty that was tasked to us," she said.

"As long as the people are alongside us and support us to change this country, we will continue forward."

The disbandment of Move Forward, which won the most seats in the 2023 election, is the latest setback for Thailand's major political parties that are embroiled in a two-decade battle for power against a nexus of influential conservatives, old money families and the royalist military.

The dissolution could anger millions of young and urban voters who backed Move Forward and its progressive agenda. But the impact of the ruling could be minimal, with only its 11 party executives — including former leader