“They want to destroy us, but it’s time to prove that they cannot destroy us. We have to be stronger,” Thanathorn told supporters after the ruling. “Future Forward is more than a party. You can dissolve a party, but you cannot dissolve its people.
Many supporters gathered at the party headquarters broke down in tears after the verdict was read and held paper banners in their hands, including: “Love Thanathorn”, “We can wait 10 years. Keep fighting” and “People who created FFP, don’t rob us of our future!”
However, the party also faced a separate allegation over the Election Commission’s accusation that it took a 191.2 million baht ($6.08 million) loan from Thanathorn. The law limits donations from one person to 10 million baht ($318,167).
The party and Thanathorn, 41, have denied wrongdoing. Thanathorn said the financial arrangements between him and the party were sound.
“If we could go back in time… we would do the same because it was transparent and verifiable,” he said in a Facebook post this week.
In one other post, he wondered about the potential for a good hearing, writing: “Why are we prone to having the party dissolved, banned from working in leadership positions, and even imprisoned for wanting to construct a brand new form of honest political party, with good intentions and transparency?”
In November, Thanathorn was suspended from parliament for violating electoral law after being accused of owning shares in a media company while registering as a candidate. He announced that he had sold the shares before registration.
Most Future Forward lawmakers could retain their seats in parliament, but a ban on the organization’s top leaders will strengthen Prayuth’s coalition’s slim parliamentary majority.
Future Forward and its allies argue that the foundations of last yr’s elections were written to make sure victory for Prayuth’s pro-army party. Prayuth said the structure, drafted under the auspices of the military during his rule and which supplies the military a political role, is crucial to make sure stability after years of political chaos and occasional acts of violence.
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: opposition party dissolved due to a loan from its founder
