Leader of the Future Forward Party Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit (Photo: AFP) Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Constitutional Court on February 21 issued a verdict dissolving the Future Forward Party (FFP).
The party was found to have violated laws governing political parties by accepting a loan worth about 6 million USD from its young tycoon leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, to fund an electoral campaign.
Laws related to political parties in Thailand say that no one are allowed to donate cash, assets or other benefits worth more than 10 million baht (320,000 USD) to a political party.
The party denied the allegation, saying that a loan cannot be counted as a donation since the party agreed to pay back the debt to Thanathorn.
With the verdict, 16 leaders of the party, including Thanathorn, were banned from politics for a decade.
Because 11 of the executives also serve as members of parliaments (MPs), the ruling subsequently shrank the number of the party’s seats in the Parliament down to 68.
The rest of the MPs must find a new party within the next 60 days to keep their lawmaker status.
Founded in 2019, the Future Forward Party won 80 out of 500 seats at the house of representatives in the general election in March 2019./.
The party was found to have violated laws governing political parties by accepting a loan worth about 6 million USD from its young tycoon leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, to fund an electoral campaign.
Laws related to political parties in Thailand say that no one are allowed to donate cash, assets or other benefits worth more than 10 million baht (320,000 USD) to a political party.
The party denied the allegation, saying that a loan cannot be counted as a donation since the party agreed to pay back the debt to Thanathorn.
With the verdict, 16 leaders of the party, including Thanathorn, were banned from politics for a decade.
Because 11 of the executives also serve as members of parliaments (MPs), the ruling subsequently shrank the number of the party’s seats in the Parliament down to 68.
The rest of the MPs must find a new party within the next 60 days to keep their lawmaker status.
Founded in 2019, the Future Forward Party won 80 out of 500 seats at the house of representatives in the general election in March 2019./.
VNA
