"Triumph and Resurgence: Thai Opposition Leader Pita Limjaroenrat Returns to Parliament, Vows to Challenge Government Policies."

 

Thai opposition lawmaker Pita Limjaroenrat returned to parliament a day after the country’s top court cleared him of allegations he had violated election rules, vowing to scrutinize government policies including a multi-billion-baht cash handout scheme. 

Pita resumed his lawmaker duties on Thursday, after the Constitutional Court said his equity stake in a defunct media firm didn’t violate election rules, thus acquitting him of the first of two high-profile legal challenges he had to face this month and ending his six-month suspension.

The Election Commission brought the case last year against Pita, 43, after his reformist Move Forward Party won the most parliamentary seats in a general election in May. Shortly after the vote, a pro-democracy coalition made him its candidate for prime minister.

But the media shareholding allegations were cited to thwart his bid for premiership and threatened to disqualify him as a lawmaker.  A different multi-party coalition that excluded Move Forward was then forged, backed by the military-appointed Senate, resulting in a different businessman-turned-politician, Srettha Thavisin, becoming Thailand’s prime minister and finance minister in August. “I see it as a detour.

There’s still the destination that I have to get to, even with six months lost,” Pita told reporters at Parliament House. Among his focuses will be a scrutiny into some key government policy proposals, he said, including a 500 billion baht ($14 billion) cash-handout program to most Thai adults that has spurred concerns over long-term fiscal discipline.

Move Forward may also reinstate Pita as its leader in an annual party meeting scheduled in April, after he stepped down last year following his suspension.

Thursday's court ruling centered on Pita's assertion that he merely managed shares in the now-defunct ITV Pcl inherited after his father's 2006 demise. He argued that ITV ceased to be a media business after its government contract ended in 2007, as Thailand's constitution prohibits those seeking public office from owning shares in media firms. Following election scrutiny, all 42,000 shares (0.003% of ITV’s total) were transferred to his younger brother.

However, Pita's challenges persist. He and Move Forward face another Constitutional Court verdict next week regarding whether their campaign pledges to amend the lese majeste law violated the constitution, a more serious allegation related to monarchy defamation.

A guilty verdict next week could prompt the Election Commission to file a petition for the dissolution of Move Forward, echoing a verdict four years ago that dissolved Move Forward's predecessor, Future Forward, and banned its leaders from active politics.

Political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak anticipates ongoing challenges to keep Move Forward off balance, suggesting a strategic move by the court and Election Commission to wield influence based on perceived threats. The timing of such actions hinges on when they deem the party a significant enough threat to warrant intervention.