The Election Commission (EC) has received a petition seeking the dissolution of the People’s Party over comments made by party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut about Privy Council members’ attendance at a meeting with a state agency.
EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee said on Tuesday that the petition is currently undergoing a preliminary review to determine whether the statements meet the legal criteria for an offence under the law.
Serial petitioner Srisuwan Janya submitted his complaint to the EC on May 21 after reading a Facebook post criticising the government and the Privy Council for holding a joint meeting on drought management.
While the post appears to be a criticism of the government, it also contains a reproach directed at the performance of duties by the Privy Council, which could reflect on the royal institution, Mr Srisuwan said.
As such, he argued, the People’a Party could be guilty of seeking to undermine the constitutional monarchy.
If the EC finds sufficient grounds for wrongdoing, he urged the agency to forward the case to the Constitutional Court to consider dissolving the opposition party under Section 92 of the 2017 Constitution.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul responded last week to Mr Natthaphong’s comments, saying the participation of Privy Council members in a meeting with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation was not interference in government affairs.
The opposition leader said the prime minister should reconsider involving Privy Council members in public policy meetings and warned against bringing the higher institution into politics.
Mr Anutin said meetings at which Privy Council members receive updates from state agencies were routine and had been taking place for years.
Mr Sawaeng said it was too early to specify how long it would take for the EC to reach a decision, as the petition required careful consideration, starting with a review by the political parties registrar.
The EC is currently handling more than 10 party dissolution cases, he said, adding that any new complaint must first undergo a preliminary factual review to determine whether it is ready for formal consideration.
When asked whether the EC would take Constitutional Court precedents into account during its initial review of the latest complaint, Mr Sawaeng said the EC follows the same procedures for all political parties. He added that the matter might not necessarily be related to previous cases.
Two previous incarnations of the People’s Party have been dissolved by the Constitutional Court: Future Forward in 2020 for accepting an illegal loan from one of its founders, and Move Forward in 2024 for supporting amendments to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law.
