Thai Lawyer Asks Court to Stop Ex-PM Thaksin’s Meddling

(Bloomberg) -- Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the ruling Pheu Thai party have been accused of undermining Thailand’s monarchy and political system in a petition filed to a top court by an activist lawyer, raising the possibility of further challenges to the stability of the ruling coalition.

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The petition filed by Theerayuth Suwankaesorn called on the Constitutional Court to order Thaksin and Pheu Thai Party to cease all attempts to overthrow the democratic regime of government, with the king as head of state.

“The two have committed acts that erode and undermine the dignity of the monarchy, causing it to lose its status above politics or its political neutrality, therefore making it deteriorate or become weaker,” Theerayuth told reporters at the court on Thursday. Thaksin and Pheu Thai also had the intention of undermining the political party system, he added.

Theerayuth’s challenge, which has yet to be formally accepted for consideration by the court, came barely a month after Paetongtarn’s administration took office and added to a barrage of legal complaints seeking to disqualify the 38-year-old new leader.

If accepted, the petition could pave the way for other challenges or potential rulings to dissolve Pheu Thai. Being under the control or influence of a non-party member is grounds for dissolution under Thai law.

The petition raises risks of political uncertainty in a country still recovering from recent political upheaval. This includes the dismissal of former leader Srettha Thavisin by the Constitutional Court, which found him guilty of an ethical violation for appointing a convicted lawyer as a cabinet minister.

“If the court does order Thaksin and Pheu Thai to cease their actions, someone will file a follow-up petition to ask the court to dissolve the party,” said Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former election commissioner.

The new government led by Thaksin’s daughter, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has come under legal scrutiny over her father’s alleged control over the ruling party.

An enduring but polarizing figure in Thai politics, Thaksin is widely seen as wielding significant influence in setting the course of action for the government. The 75-year-old returned to Thailand last year after 15 years in self-imposed exile in what’s seen as part of a deal with the royalist establishment to help conservative parties stay in power and block the reformist Move Forward Party.

The four-year-old Move Forward Party, which won the 2023 general election mainly because of its strong support among the youth and urban voters, was disbanded in August over its pledge to reform Thailand’s strict lese majeste law that prohibits criticism of the king.

Thaksin was initially sentenced to eight years in jail over corruption charges stemming from his time in power, from 2001 until a military coup in 2006. The former premier didn’t spend a day in prison and King Maha Vajiralongkorn commuted his sentence to one year — six months of which Thaksin spent in detention in a hospital before being released on parole.

In his 65-page complaint, Theerayuth claims that Thaksin has used the Pheu Thai Party to exercise control over the government in various aspects, including to stay out of prison. The former premier is alleged to have manipulated the party into backing his daughter as Srettha’s successor, ousting a military-backed party from the ruling coalition and adopting proposals he made at a dinner talk as official government policies.

Theerayuth also accused Thaksin of colluding with former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen to order Thailand to negotiate with its neighbor over a gas field in the Gulf of Thailand, on which both countries have staked overlapping claims since the 1970s.

Visuth Chainaroon, the head of Pheu Thai lawmakers and the chief government whip, denied Theerayuth’s allegations, saying: “How can Thaksin be controlling the party? I have never received any orders from him.”

“If the government carries on whatever he’s done that benefits the country, that’s up to the government and not because of any control or order,” he told reporters.

(Updates with an analyst comment in seventh paragraph.)

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