The aspiring prime minister of Thailand, disqualified while his second and failed inauguration was being debated

Thailand has experienced another episode this Wednesday that leads it to slide even further down the dangerous slope of chronic institutional instability that the Southeast Asian nation has suffered for decades. In a worrying, though not surprising, twist in the script, the Thai Constitutional Court has disqualified Pita Limjaroenrat (42 years old), winner of last May's elections, as a deputy, just at the time when Parliament was debating his second attempt to achieve the investiture as prime minister.

The leader of the newly minted Move Forward Party (MFP) party did not get the support of a simple majority of deputies and senators last week, despite his resounding victory at the polls – he obtained more than 14 million votes – and having formed a government coalition with up to seven parties. Because it crashed, fundamentally, against the veto of the members of the Upper House, handpicked in its day by the government of the coup general and acting prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha. And it is that the powerful conservative elites of Thailand see in the young businessman and politician a dangerous revolutionary, due to his promises of democratic reforms that would affect even the untouchable institution of the country, the Monarchy, and they were not willing to facilitate his access to power.

Limjaroenrat had arrived early in the morning at the Thai Parliament with no hope of turning things around in a second vote.. In fact, after last Thursday's defeat, the coalition he led had begun to crumble and the second most voted party in May, the populist Pheu Thai of the Shinawatra – one of the country's great political dynasties – had spent days negotiating behind the scenes for a plan B, which would involve one of its candidates choosing to be sworn in as prime minister, already with the support of conservative and ultra-monarchical formations and, naturally, the endorsement of the army.. Aware of his precarious situation, Limjaroenrat announced earlier in the week that if he did not get the necessary support from Parliament he would throw in the towel and step back.. What he did not count on was that the Justice was going to give him the thrust even before the vote with a disqualification as a great thrust.

After receiving the temporary suspension of his deputy act, the television cameras have focused on a resigned Limjaroenrat who has been forced to hand over his parliamentary credentials and meekly leave the Chamber, asking in a good tone all the members of the Hemicycle to “use the parliamentary system to take care of the people”.

Some 150 pro-Pita protesters immediately approached the gates of Parliament to show their disappointment.. Some threw plastic bottles at the venue and others launched orange smoke canisters, the one chosen with great intention as identification by the Move Forward Party since the hue is halfway between yellow, which is considered the pro-Monarchy color in Thailand, and the red that citizens have used to use in demonstrations in favor of democracy in recent years.

And with the progressive leader absent from Parliament, the long debate on his investiture has continued as if nothing had happened, since the Thai electoral system – like the Spanish one, without going any further – does not require the prime minister to be a parliamentarian. Although, finally, by 395 votes against Limjaroenrat and 312 in favor, the progressive leader was prevented from opting for a second vote.

“It is evident that the vote of the people is not enough to govern the country,” declared the disgraced politician in a message posted on his Instagram account.

The members of the Constitutional Court, by five votes to two, have suspended the aspiring prime minister after a complaint against him for allegedly violating electoral rules by showing up to the polls as the owner of a package of shares in a media outlet, something prohibited, although in this case the television channel has not operated since 2007. The winner of the elections has excused himself, explaining that the shares were part of his father's estate, now deceased, and that they had been transferred to the family environment upon his death and that he had limited himself to administering them as executor. Many analysts stress that the complaint is part of the witch hunt by the country's elites, led by the military and the high Buddhist hierarchy, who did not tolerate the reformist measures promoted by Limjaroenrat, especially his desire to modify the draconian lese majesty law, which punishes anyone who dares to voice even the slightest criticism of the royal family with harsh prison terms.. If Limjaroenrat were found guilty in the ongoing judicial process, he could face 20 years of political disqualification and 10 years in prison.

“Do not give in to the obstacles that prevent the nation from freeing itself from the shackles that have stopped the country's democracy, do not stop because rules and regulations have been created to favor authoritarianism that slows down the development of the country, which is truly the people's,” wrote Kannavee Suebsang, secretary general of the Fair Party, on the networks, as soon as he learned of Limjaroenrat's disqualification, giving voice to the frustration that millions of Thais will feel today who see how the expression democracy at the polls collides with the immobilist forces that try to maintain an iron status quo.

Thailand has been subjected to continuous coups d'état and pronouncements that prevent the consolidation of a democratic regime since the 1940s. The last coup occurred in 2014, when the military resumed power. It was not until this past month of May when the Thais were once again able to participate in elections with guarantees, although now we are witnessing the deliberate blocking of those who refuse to accept the results – the opposition parties swept 70% of the votes.

massive protests

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, between 2020 and 2021 there were massive protests in the Asian nation, led mainly by tens of thousands of young students who demanded the recovery of freedoms under slogans such as “Down with dictatorship, long live democracy!”. In the marches there was unprecedented criticism of the Monarchy that today is headed by the controversial King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Although the institution is not in question at the moment, more and more Thais want to break all the taboos that hyper-protect the Crown, making it untouchable.

Pita Limjaroenrat campaigned promising a reform of the lèse majesté law, both to reduce the years of sentences that the norm contemplates for any gesture or comment that is considered offensive against the Monarchy, and to establish that only the Office of the Royal Household can file complaints for defamation and insults, compared to the current situation in which anyone can do so. The latter is especially important since the law has been repeatedly used by successive governments as an instrument to muzzle dissent.

Only since 2020, there are 252 people, including children under 14 years of age, charged in Thailand for alleged violation of the lèse majesté law.