KYODO NEWS - Feb 21, 2020 - 21:05 | World, All

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Friday dissolved the country's second largest opposition political party and banned its 16 executives from participating in politics for 10 years.

The Future Forward Party was dissolved over the lending of 191 million baht ($6 million) by its leader Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit to his election campaign in violation of a law on political parties.

(Leader of the opposition Future Forward Party Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit speaks to supporters at a rally in Bangkok on Dec. 14, 2019.)[NurPhoto/Getty/Kyodo]

According to the ruling, the party violated the Political Parties Act, which bars a party from taking money or assets from illegitimate sources, while it also considered the loans as tantamount to a donation, limited by law to 10 million baht per donor.

The pro-democracy party came in third in the March general election after Thanathorn, a tycoon-turned-politician, ran a campaign centered on opposing the military rule that had continued since 2014.

With its dissolution, 11 Future Forward Party members who are on its executive committee will lose their seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, while the party's other 65 legislators must find another party to join within 60 days.

At a press conference later Friday, Thanathorn and the key party members expressed disappointment with the court ruling but vowed to continue working for the people along with the party's supporters in some form.

"Although the party is dissolved, the people still remain. It is time to prove they cannot destroy us' he said, while urging supporters to gather at party headquarters in the evening to express solidarity.

Friday's ruling came after the same court on Jan. 21 acquitted the Future Forward Party, which has been popular among young Thai people, of seeking to overthrow the country's constitutional monarch.

(Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit holds a press conference on Feb. 21, 2020 after the court ruling.)

In November last year, it disqualified Thanathorn from being a member of parliament over an election law violation.

Including him, there are a total of 16 party executives now banned from politics for 10 years.

While the March election nominally restored civilian rule, former junta figures remain firmly in control of government through the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, which backs Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

As army commander, Prayut seized power in the coup and became prime minister. He was elected prime minister in June and is currently serving a four-year term.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Prayut called on the people "to respect the court's decision."

"I believe that people who choose the Future Forward Party will be able to find other mechanisms to inspect the work of the government," he added.