The party received a copy of the petition yesterday and has seven days to submit its testimony.

A hearing will be held on February 27, a statement from the court said.

Meanwhile, the chief of the party’s legal team, Pichit Chuenban, said yesterday that his team would study the petition before discussing the matter at a party meeting next Monday.

The development follows an EC complaint on Wednesday against the party for allegedly breaching the Political Party Law by nominating Princess Ubolratana as its prime ministerial candidate last week.

The nomination, however, was immediately terminated by the EC following His Majesty the King’s royal command.

Meanwhile, the party’s executives gave no indication of the direction their election campaign would take with the threat of party dissolution hanging over them.

Key party members like Chaturon Chaisang, Nattawut Saikua, Pichai Nariptaphan and Weng Tojirakarn yesterday called off their electoral campaign and instead met at the party headquarters to discuss the issue.

Later, Chaturon, who chairs the party’s strategic committee, told the press that the party would have to put its election campaign plans on hold, especially events involving meetings with huge numbers of voters and public speeches. He said this was to avoid complications.

“Now, we have to see what fits the situation,” he said. “Since the accusation involves a sensitive issue, we should now prioritise preparing for the case that is now with the Constitutional Court.”

The party would resume contact with voters once the legal issues were settled, he added.

Though these members were not a part of the executive board, whose members could be banned from politics for life if the party were to be dissolved, Chaturon said they were willing to help the party tide over the problems.

He added that his team wanted to see the party flourish and help sort out issues of public interest.

Chaturon, who was initially expected by Shinawatra supporters to be named a PM candidate of the party, denied there were any conflicts that had led to his name being left out of the party’s PM list. Observers have also pointed to him being away from the scene since the Princess’s nomination caused controversy.

Chaturon said he was closely following the news, and as a non-executive party member, he had no power to make any decision but was willing to help find a solution.

He added that despite the lawsuit and threats of party dissolution, he had no regrets and had no plans to leave the party.

Key member Nattawut, who chairs the party-election campaign, said major campaigns may have to be put on hold for the time being due to the lawsuit. However, he said, the MP candidates may be obliged to continue working with voters.

Nattawut added that he would stick with Thai Raksa Chart all the way and was determined to bring democracy back to the country despite the party’s problems.

Before the court’s decision was announced yesterday, Thai Raksa Chart’s party-list MP candidate Ruangkrai Leekitwatana had approached the court, pleading for it to reject the EC petition.

He said the complaint was unlawful as it had been filed without an initial investigation.

A pro-election group led by activists Anurak Jentawanich and Ekachai Hongkangwan yesterday also protested against the attempt to disband Thai Raksa Chart.

They said disbanding the party could deepen the political conflict and it also reflected the EC’s double standards when dealing with Shinawatra supporters. They called the occurrence a conspiracy by the ruling regime.

Thai Raksa Chart leader Preechaphol Pongpanit yesterday vowed to fight the dissolution threat as party lawyers asked the Court to hear their defence. 

THE Embattled Thai Raksa Chart Party continued to fight threats of dissolution yesterday, calling on the Constitutional Court to reconsider the charges pressed against it by the Election Commission (EC).

Party leader Preechaphol Pongpanit said yesterday they were perplexed about what charges they would face, and they will seek clarity from the court so that it can prepare its case. The Constitutional Court is scheduled to meet today to decide whether to accept the EC petition to dissolve the party for alleged “hostility” towards the constitutional monarchy system.

The court scheduled the hearing after the EC filed a case against Thai Raksa Chart for allegedly breaching the Political Party Law last week by nominating Princess Ubolratana as its prime-ministerial candidate. The law prohibits any actions that violate democratic rule under constitutional monarchy, with the threat of party dissolution.

The executives of a party that is disbanded will be banned from politics for 10 years.

The commissioners had unanimously agreed on Tuesday to take legal action against the party, said the agency’s secretary-general, Jarungvith Phumma, who represented the EC in filing its petition with the Constitutional Court.

With the possibility of legal action looming since the last weekend, Thai Raksa Chart had submitted a letter to the EC, asking it to clarify the matter before deciding on whether to take the case to the court.

Representing the party, lawyer Surachai Chinchai said the agency should at least first conduct an initial investigation including hearing testimony from the party.

Separately, the lawyer also submitted another plea to the Constitutional Court, asking for a copy of the petition so that the party could prepare its defence.

The party also pleaded against the EC’s petition, claiming the agency’s procedure was unlawful as it had not conducted any investigation before approaching the court.

The head of the party’s legal department, Pichit Chuenban, reiterated that the party was offended that it had not even been given a fair chance to acknowledge the charge by the EC.

Pichit implied that the expedited procedure could have been politically motivated.

“Everything happened so fast. And [this Friday,] the EC will already announce the list of qualified MP candidates,” the lawyer said at a press conference held at the party’s office. “I can see that the EC is up to something.”

Election Commission SecretaryGeneral Jarungwit Phumma arrives at the Constitutional Court yesterday to deliver documents supporting thepush to disband the Thai Raksa Chart Party for allegedly acting againstconstitutional monarchy.

Under the law, if a court ruling is unfavourable to a party and the party is dissolved before the election is held, none of the party’s candidates will be allowed to run in the election.

On the other hand, if the verdict on disbanding a party is issued after the election, the party’s winning candidates would have 30 days to find a new party.

The Shinawatra-backed party found itself in trouble last Friday after a Royal Command from HM the King disapproved its nomination of Princess Ubolratana as prime ministerial candidate.

Though Ubolratana gave up her royal title nearly five decades ago when she married a foreigner, the Royal Command said Ubolratana, the eldest sister of the King and the eldest daughter of the late King Rama IX, remains a member of the Royal Family and is respected by both royals and Thai people.

The princess should stay above politics, the Royal Command read.

With the situation evolving against Thai Raksa Chart, Princess Ubolratana late on Tuesday night posted on her personal Instagram account @nichax a photo of a Bangkok canal. The captions read that the princess was sad that her sincere intention to help the Thai people had resulted in trouble that should not have happened in this era.

The photo also goes with the hashtag #howcomeitsthewayitis.

Legislators yesterday commented that Thai Raksa Chart should have considered the status of the princess in Thai society, though she had relinquished her title.

Constitutional writer Udom Rathamarit said that Thai Raksa Chart may have followed the procedure when it named the princess as its prime ministerial candidate, but it should also have thought about the traditions and social relations in Thai society.

“They have to take responsibility. Political parties have to work maturely, not childishly,” he said.

Chief writer of the political party law Somjate Boonthanom said yesterday: “Using common sense, [the princess] could be considered a commoner. But the way the people treat her clearly shows she is not. I don’t know if Thai Raksa Chart had considered this fact before inviting her to be the PM candidate.”

The six defendants who were leaders of now-defunct People’s Alliance for Democracy movement, were Chamlong Srimuang, 83, Sondhi Limthongkul, 70, Pipob Thongchai, 72, Somkiat Pongpaibul, 68, Somsak Kosaisuk 72, and Suriyasai Katasilam, 45.

The court found them guilty of jointly invading and damaging government property, including Government House.

They led rallies at Democracy Monument on Rachadamnoen Road with an aim to pressure Samak to resign.

The protesters used tools to destroy locks on the Government House gates before occupying the compound from August until December.

The damage was estimated at about Bt5 million.

Yellow-shirt protesters also occupied the ministries of finance and agriculture and cooperatives.

The Supreme Court ruled that their demonstrations were not conducted in a peaceful manner, as claimed by the defendants, so it decided to uphold the jail term of eight months for each defendant.

The First Court convicted them each for two years but the Appeals Court decreased it to eight months.

After the ruling, the corrections department brought the five defendants, except Sondhi, to Bangkok Remand Prison. Sondhi, who was being jailed in other cases, was present at the court and taken back to Klong Prem Central Prison after the ruling.