Bangkok (BLAZETRENDS) of the party and disqualification of its leaders.
The complaint against the formation occurs due to its proposal to reform the lèse majesté law, according to a statement from the Constitutional Court, and has been accepted by the court one day before Parliament meets to elect the prime minister.
The party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat and which has 15 days to respond to the court, is accused of “trying to overthrow the democratic system with His Majesty the King as head of state”, according to article 49 of the Constitution.
The Constitutional decision occurs the same day that it accepted another complaint against Pita, the main candidate for prime minister, for allegedly having shares in a media outlet, something prohibited by electoral regulations and that could entail a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and his disqualification for 20.
The judicial harassment against Avanzar, a progressive party that seeks pro-democratic reforms in the country, began before the elections on May 14 and worsened after its unexpected victory.
Pita heads a coalition of eight parties that add up to 312 of the 500 deputies of the House of Representatives, elected in the elections.
However, this large majority in the lower house is not enough to be elected as the next president since the 250 members of the Senate also participate in the selection process, fully elected by the extinct military junta (2014-2019).
Avanzar, heir to the dissolved Future Forward party, does not have much sympathy among the Senate, which could bury the election of Pita, which requires a minimum of 376 supports.
The legal cases against Avanzar and its leader are reminiscent of the case of Future Forward, which was dissolved in February 2020 by court order and its leaders, including Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, were banned for 10 years on charges of receiving an illegal loan.
The decision was criticized by the European Union and the United States and triggered student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in 2020 and 2021.
Faced with the scenario that Parliament does not get to vote with a sufficient majority, Thailand could again be forced to go to the polls again, the interim deputy prime minister, Wissanu Krea-ngam, said in early June.