Thai court’s lese majeste ruling against Move Forward Party could trigger more political conflict

Former Thai prime ministerial candidate and Move Forward Party (MFP) MP Pita Limjaroenrat (C) attends a press conference at the Thai parliament in Bangkok on January 31, 2024, after Thailand's Constitutional Court court ordered Pita and MFP to stop campaigning for lese-majeste reform immediately. Thailand's progressive Move Forward Party, which won most seats at the last election, was on January 31 ordered to stop campaigning to reform the kingdom's tough royal defamation laws, as a top court ruled the policy was unlawful. (Photo by Jack TAYLOR / AFP)

Former Thai PM candidate and former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat (centre, left) at a press conference at the Thai Parliament in Bangkok on Jan 31.

PHOTO: AFP

Tan Hui Yee

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BANGKOK - Thailand’s benchmark SET Index dropped over seven points on Jan 31, immediately after the Constitutional Court delivered its verdict ordering the election-winning Move Forward Party (MFP) to stop its campaign to amend the royal defamation law.

The stock market jitters echo larger fears about the ruling’s most likely consequence – the party’s dissolution, and the subsequent entrenchment of conflict in a society still trying to heal from two decades of political polarisation.

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