Move Forward leader upbeat of victory, but fellow MP disagrees

Move Forward Party leader Chaithawat Tulathon confidently declared that he does not believe his party will be dissolved by the charter court next month, though MP Rangsiman Rome disagreed.

Chaithawat appeared optimistic on Wednesday, though party-list MP Rangsiman aired pessimism when the Constitutional Court announced it would deliver a verdict in the Move Forward case on August 7.

Rangsiman said there was a very slim chance of the party escaping dissolution, especially since the court decided to stop deliberating on the case and chose not to listen to witnesses put forward by Move Forward.

The Election Commission (EC) filed a case against the party on allegations that it had tried to overthrow the country’s constitutional monarchy and that its election promise to amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code (lese majeste law) was tantamount to hostility towards the monarchy.

Rangsiman said he was pessimistic because the party hoped to have Prof Dr Surapon Nitikraipoj, an expert on public law and a legal advisor to the EC, testify in defence of the party.

However, since the court decided not to hold an inquiry for witnesses to testify, the party would miss the chance to enter a key witness’s account to counter EC’s allegations, Rangsiman noted.

Chaithawat, however, remained unperturbed, saying the party was doing its duty on the opposition bench as usual and was not worried about losing in court on August 7.

Hence, he said, Move Forward has not prepared any contingency plans in case it was dissolved by the court next month.

Chaithawat went on to say that he was confident because the court had announced on Wednesday that it would also take into account written statements and witness accounts submitted by either the EC or Move Forward.

Hence, he said, he is confident that the court will consider Surapon’s written opinion in defence of the party. He said he has submitted more written arguments and Surapon’s testimony to the court on Tuesday to prove that the party had no intention to overthrow or be hostile towards the monarchy.

Chaithawat said the submitted statements also pointed out that the EC had bypassed the required procedure when it filed the complaint against Move Forward. The argument also cites documents proving to the court that the EC’s filing of the case was unlawful, he said.

The party leader added that he would also draft a closing statement and submit it before the July 24 deadline set by the court.

Chaithawat said that since the House of Representatives is meeting on August 7 and 8, the party has not yet discussed what preparations it will make for the meeting.

However, he said, he will definitely meet the press corps after the House meeting on August 8, when he will be submitting an interpellation against PM Srettha Thavisin.

“See you on August 8. We’ll submit an interpellation against the prime minister and I’ll be there as the opposition leader,” Chaithawat said with a smile.