BANGKOK - Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled on Jan 24 that prominent Thai opposition figure Pita Limjaroenrat had not breached media shareholding rules, clearing the way for his return to Parliament six months after his suspension.

Mr Pita, 43, the former leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP), had been suspended from Parliament since July 2023 pending this verdict.

He had been blocked from assuming the premiership in Thailand despite his party winning the most seats in the May 2023 general election, largely due to opposition from senators appointed under military rule.

The case on Jan 24 pertains to Mr Pita’s holding of shares in ITV, a company which lost its broadcasting concession in 2007.

People owning media businesses are not allowed to run for Parliament.

Mr Pita, who inherited the shares from his late father, had argued that it was not an active media organisation.

The court concurred on Jan 24: “There’s no information indicating that ITV conducted media business since its media licence was suspended on March 7, 2007. So ITV was not conducting media business when (Mr Pita) registered to be an MP.”

After the verdict, Mr Pita posted a message on platform X, formerly known as Twitter: “Thank you everyone for your encouragement; we will continue with our work without waiting.”

He later told reporters: “I will go back to working in the Parliament as soon as I am allowed too.”

The ruling comes as a reprieve for the MFP.

The party had gone from election winner to the largest opposition party after the Pheu Thai Party, the runner-up in the polls, formed its own coalition government.

Chulalongkorn University political scientist Pandit Chanrochanakit saw the verdict as a turning point for Thailand to move along the path of political reconciliation, four years after the court-mandated dissolution of the progressive Future Forward Party sparked youth protests that snowballed into larger demands for reforms in Thailand’s conservative establishment.

“It could help them make peace with the youth movement,” he told The Straits Times on Jan 24.

The Constitutional Court had determined in 2020 that Future Forward had violated campaign funding rules.

Key party executives, including leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, were banned from politics for 10 years following the 2020 court decision.

Remaining members of Future Forward, including Mr Pita, went on to form the Move Forward Party.

The government then was headed by Mr Prayut Chan-o-cha, a former army chief who staged a military coup in 2014, ushering in junta rule in Thailand for the next five years.

“In the past, we have seen the use of the judicial branch to get rid of political opposition that challenges the authoritarian regime,” Dr Pandit said.

“Pita not only represents the voters who voted for him, he (also) represents people’s hopes for change.”

On Jan 31, the MFP will face another legal challenge.

The Constitutional Court is set to rule on whether the party’s bid to amend the lese majeste law amounts to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.

The controversial law, which critics argue could lead to political abuse, recently resulted in a man receiving a cumulative jail sentence of 50 years.

If found guilty, the MFP could be ordered to stop trying to change this law.

MFP supporters fear it could be used as a pretext to dissolve the party itself.

Mr Pita, currently acting as adviser of the MFP, has argued that political parties should disappear only when they cannot get popular support, rather than be disbanded through judicial intervention.

In an interview with ST in December 2023, he talked about the need to take a long-term view on the current challenges faced by his party and the progressive sections of Thai society.

“I felt like we might not win immediately, but we will win definitely, and we will win eventually,” he said then.