Chaithawat, 4 other Move Forward MPs bow to dissolution verdict
MFP MPs and Deputy House Speaker Padipat Suntiphada, bid farewell to the Parliament after the court slapped them with 10-year ban
Move Forward Party leader Chaithawat Tulathon informed the House on Wednesday evening that he and four other Move Forward MPs could not perform their parliamentary duties as they had been banned following the party’s dissolution.
Chaithawat interrupted the deliberation of a bill on land transport by seeking permission from the chair to inform the House that he and four other MPs had lost their parliamentary status.
The other four MPs were Apichart Sirisunthorn, Benja Saengchan, Suthep U-on and former Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat.
The five MPs had been party executives during the period of March 25, 2021 to January 31, 2024, when the Constitutional Court had ruled that Move Forward undermined the constitutional monarchy and acted in hostility towards the country’s democratic ruling system with the King as head of state.
“We can no longer perform our duty as MPs,” Chaithawat said, as he thanked all MPs for a chance to have worked with them.
“Now, I won’t be able to work with you for 10 years,” he added.
After Chaithawat ended his statement, Deputy House Speaker Padipat Suntiphada, now a Fair Party MP who was chairing the meeting, said he too will have to end his parliamentary duties as he has also been banned.
Padipat was an MFP executive during the period and is among the 11 who have been banned from elections for 10 years. He thanked all the MPs and closed the meeting.
After listening to Chaithawat’s announcement, all MFP MPs at the meeting stood up to hug one another. Some raised their fist to show they would keep fighting, while others broke down in tears.
Padipat stepped down from the chairman’s bench before joining other MFP MPs for a group photograph, in which they all raised their fist.
