Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that the maverick leader of a new political party that finished third in a general election in March violated election laws and cannot keep his seat in Parliament.
The court said Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party, violated a regulation barring owners of media companies from running for Parliament.
The court rejected Thanathorn's claim that he sold his holding in a media production company before the deadline needed to be a candidate.
The ruling had been expected. Thanathorn's party has been a thorn in the side of Thailand's conservative establishment, in whose favour the courts have consistently ruled.
The party is disliked by the establishment not only for its anti-military stance, but also because of its strong popularity.
There are other cases pending against Thanathorn and his party, and there are widespread fears it will end up being disbanded, with its members banned from political office for several years.
Thanathorn was never allowed to take his seat in the lower house of Parliament because of the state Election Commission's preliminary finding that he had violated the law.
According to an initial court ruling, he was being suspended because he could be guilty as charged, which would be an "obstruction to the important work in the meetings in the House of Representatives."
I want to call on everyone who still loves justice to proudly stand together and fight to restore justice to Thai society."
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