STEPS ARE being taken for the dissolution of the political party that nominated Princess Ubolratana as its PM candidate for the March 24 general election.

The Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution, a political pressure group, unveiled its plan yesterday to ask the Election Commission (EC) to take steps that could lead to a Constitutional Court verdict dissolving the Thai Raksa Chart Party.

The group’s secretary-general Srisuwan Janya said a petition would be filed with the EC today.

On Friday morning, Thai Raksa Chart gave the EC Princess Ubolratana’s name as its sole PM candidate. However, in the evening, His Majesty the King issued a nationally broadcast statement that said it was against tradition and was unconstitutional for a member of the Royal Family to be involved in politics. The Princess is His Majesty’s older sister.

In response to the statement, Thai Raksa Chart said it accepted the royal command “with loyalty to His Majesty and all members of the Royal Family”, while the Princess thanked people for their love and support in a message on Instagram.

Meanwhile, members of the ruling junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), are viewing this “misstep” as an opportunity to get Thai Raksa Chart dissolved.

The party is linked to former fugitive prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is a staunch critic of the NCPO and also viewed as its arch-enemy.

“This is the best time to get the party dissolved. This is because they have shot themselves in the foot. It’s a serious mistake. If we can link Thai Raksa Chart and Pheu Thai Party, we will be able to get them both dissolved. If that is the case, the dissolution must be done before the election,” an NCPO supporter said.

The source added that the EC could take any political party to the Constitutional Court if it believes the party had violated any law that is punishable by dissolution.

“The EC should clarify this matter next week. If it decides to take this case to the Constitutional Court, then the verdict should come in time for the March 24 election,” the source added.

Meanwhile, Thai Raksa Chart leader Preechaphol Pongpanit was seen visiting a Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya province yesterday despite rumours that he and other key party figures had been detained after announcing the party’s controversial PM candidate.

Srisuwan, a political activist known for filing complaints against politicians, said yesterday that his group would push the EC to forward his case to the Constitutional Court.

“We will ask the EC to consider whether Thai Raksa Chart Party’s action violated relevant laws and EC regulations on election campaigning. We ask that the case be referred to the Constitutional Court for a decision on whether Thai Raksa Chart should be dissolved,” Srisuwan said.

He said the party’s nomination of the Princess had led to controversy and raised the question of whether this nomination is even constitutional. The activist noted that Thai Raksa Chart had not considered legal provisions that may have prevented it from nominating the Princess, who relinquished her royal titles in 1972 to marry an American.

However, Srisuwan also noted the King’s statement barring the Princess from getting involved in politics, as she is still a member of the Royal Family. The statement pointed out that it was against the spirit of the Constitution for a member of the Royal Family to get involved in politics. Also, it said, the monarchy is supposed to stay above politics.

Srisuwan pointed out that Thai Raksa Chart had nominated someone who is not qualified to become a PM candidate, which is against the electoral laws and EC regulations.

The EC prohibits political parties from relying on the monarchy for their election campaigns.

EC president Ittiporn Boonpracong responded to the controversy yesterday, by saying the matter “should be” on the agenda today.

As for Srisuwan’s petition, which will be filed with the EC today, Ittiporn said the agency would decide later whether the petition should be used for further action. Though declining to comment directly, the EC chief said the case would be considered carefully and fairly.

In a related development, Thai Raksa Chart Party issued a statement yesterday, thanking its supporters for offering encouragement for its controversial nomination. Thaksin, who has lived in self-exile since 2008, offered words of encouragement yesterday, which observers say were meant for Thai Raksa Chart.

“Chin up and keep moving forward! We learn from past experiences but live for today and the future. Cheer up! Life must go on!” the former leader said on Twitter.

Separately, Thai Raksa Chart’s core member and legal expert Ruangkrai Leekitwattana said yesterday that he will file a petition with the EC today asking for the disqualification of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as the sole PM candidate of the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party.

His argument is that Phalang Pracharat’s process of nominating General Prayut was not in compliance with the party’s regulations. The politician also said the Constitution prohibits state officials from contesting an election, adding that as the NCPO chief, Prayut should be regarded as a government official.

Independent scholar Sirote Klampaiboon yesterday called on the EC not to seek disbandment of Thai Raksa Chart due to pressure from rival political factions. He said such a decision could cause the EC to be viewed as a political tool to get rid of the junta’s opponents.

“It is not legitimate to cite Thai Raksa Chart’s prime minister candidate and its campaign behaviour for the proposal to dissolve the party as it has not yet begun the campaign and the candidate’s qualification has not yet been proved invalid,” he said.

The Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution will file its petition with the EC on Monday, the group’s secretary-general Srisuwan Janya said on Sunday.

“We will ask the EC to consider whether Thai Raksa Chart Party’s action goes against relevant laws and EC regulations on election campaigning. We ask that the case be referred to the Constitutional Court for a verdict on whether Thai Raksa Chart should be dissolved,” Srisuwan said.

He added that the nomination of the Princess, who is the older sister of His Majesty the King, had led to much controversy and raised a big question as to whether the nomination was even constitutional. The activist noted that Thai Raksa Chart had not considered any legal provisions that prevented it from nominating the Princess, who relinquished her royal titles in 1972 to marry an American.

He also noted that the King on Friday night had issued a statement barring the Princess from getting involved in politics, as she is still a member of the Royal Family. The statement, broadcast nationally, pointed out that a Royal Family member getting involved in politics went against the spirit of the Constitution, as the monarchy is supposed to stay above politics.

Srisuwan pointed out on Sunday that Thai Raksa Chart, which is linked to fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had nominated someone who is not qualified to become a PM candidate and that this went against the electoral law and EC regulations regarding election campaigning.

EC regulations prohibit political parties from relying on the monarchy in their campaigns.

Now a candidate for the prime minister’s post, Princess Ubolratana, who relinquished her royal status in 1972, said on Friday she was exercising her constitutional right as a common citizen to enter politics and would enjoy no special advantage as a member of the Royal Family.

“I thank all Thai citizens for their love and support,” she posted on her Instagram account. “I am very appreciative and would like to see all of us enjoy our right and opportunities to be happy in our country.

“My acceptance of the Thai Raksa Chart Party’s invitation to be its PM candidate is a constitutional right, not a privilege,” she said. “I do this with sincerity and the intention to sacrifice for the sake of national prosperity.”

Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi is the eldest daughter of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and elder sister of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Her decision to be listed as the sole PM candidate of Thai Raksa Chart, a party aligned with ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, held significance in Thai politics since it is the first time in recent Thai history that an immediate member of the Royal Family joined parliamentary politics.

Thai Raksa Chart Party’s leader Preechaphol Pongpanit holds up the party’s PM list. Nation/Pramote Putthaisong

The party leader, Preechaphol Pongpanit, told reporters after submitting her candidacy to the Election Commission that her name was suggested at a party executive meeting and its directors agreed she had the credentials and would be a perfect candidate.

“So, we reached out to her and the Princess extended her kindness, allowing Thai Raksa Chart to nominate her,” Preechaphol said. The party emphasises change and modernity, he said, and the Princess was a good fit for its image.

Preechaphol said the party would wait for the Election Commission to verify her eligibility and approve her candidacy before announcing how Ubolratana would carry on its work.

He insisted that the nomination adhered to all constitutional requirements.

Asked if he thought having Ubolratana as its candidate would put other parties at a disadvantage, Preechaphol said he did not believe so, but it was up to the voters to decide.

Ubolratana has long been seen as strongly connected to the Shinawatra clan. Both Thaksin in 2006 and his sister Yingluck in 2014 fell to military coups that had broad support among the elite and urban middle classes.

Andrew MacGregor Marshall, a lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University who first broke the news on Wednesday on Facebook, called Ubolratana’s candidacy a momentous development that would cause a dramatic realignment of Thai political forces.

“It heralds the end of the bitter red-versus-yellow political conflict after 14 damaging years. A new political settlement is taking shape ahead of the coronation of HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn in May,” he said.

“The hopes of Prayut Chan-o-cha that he could stay on as prime minister after the elections have been dealt a crushing blow,” Marshall told The Nation Weekend.

“Once again, Thaksin has shown his extraordinary ability to come back from the brink of defeat.”

Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of political science at Ubon Ratchathani University, said Ubolratana’s decision would be positive for political parties aligned with Thaksin.

It would reduce military pressure on them, he said, and help Thai Raksa Chart win the support of more first-time voters who as children would have been familiar with the “To Be Number One” anti-drug campaign the Princess initiated.

Some 7 million first-time voters are eligible to cast ballots in the March 24 election.

Titipol said some factions in Thaksin’s camp who are critical of the monarchy will be unhappy with the Princess’ candidacy, but it’s the only way their side can survive.

“It’s like being terminally ill with cancer and trying every kind of medicine but never finding a cure. This is the most practical option,” he added.

With a Royal candidate in the pro-Thaksin camp, Titipol noted, the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat would be more comfortable joining Pheu Thai and Thai Raksa Chart in forming a coalition government.

Suriya Juangroongruangkit and Somsak Thepsutin, key Palang Pracharat members, once worked closely with Thaksin.

However, Titipol said, if Thai Raksa Chart leads the government after the election, it is unclear whether criticism of the government would be permitted, given Thailand’s lese majeste laws.

Speaking from Tokyo, Professor Yasuhito Asami of the Department of Global Politics at Hosei University, agreed that Ubolratana’s involvement would be a major boost for Thaksin and his allies. “From now on, it will be much more difficult for the anti-Thaksin camp to take a harsh attitude towards the Thaksin camp,” he said

As for its impact on Thailand’s political stability, he said it could go either way. If the Princess took the role of caretaker prime minister focused on fostering reconciliation and revising the Constitution to make politics more equitable, and then left politics after another election, stability would be enhanced, he said.

But if she failed to live up to people’s expectations, he warned, the dissatisfaction that has been brewing in the past four years could come to a boil and derail attempts at parliamentary democracy and also destabilise the monarchy.

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