Bangkok, 7 August 2024 (TDI): Thailand’s constitutional court ordered to bar Pita Limjaroenrat and his party from politics on Wednesday.
His political career ended just after a year. Thailand’s constitutional court ruled that he would be barred from politics for ten years and that his party must dissolve.
Only in January 2024, after winning a trial that his supporters claim was intended to put an end to his political career, was he reinstated as a Member of Parliament. Because he owned stock in a long-gone media company, the establishment had attempted to bar him from the parliament.
Around 42-year old Pita Limjaroenrat had said to a room full of reporters and flashing cameras, “Today is a new day, and certainly it is full of bright sunshine and optimism.” Hours after his Move Forward party surged to an unexpected and shocking win during Thailand’s elections last year.
Rejecting nearly ten years of army-backed dictatorship, voters gave Move Forward more seats and votes than any other party in the May 2023 poll. In a nation that has seen at least a dozen successful coups, that is no small accomplishment.
“The times have not been the same. Speaking in the party’s Bangkok headquarters at the time,” Mr. Pita had stated that the timing was perfect and the party had secured 32 of the 33 seats in the city.
Also read: Hezbollah, Iran Obliged to Respond to Israel: Nasrallah
The captivating politician was not allowed to become prime minister by Thailand’s unelected senate, despite the mandate.
However, young people who are tired of years of military rule and eager for change have taken a strong liking to Mr. Pita Limjaroenrat and his reformist party.
After winning a seat in parliament in 2019 as a Future Forward Party member, Mr. Pita began his career in politics.
Established by millionaire and ardent army critic Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Future Forward became victorious in the 2019 election, causing a stir in Thai politics with its demands for reform.
However, after divisive accusations, the party was compelled to dissolve the next year. Mr. Thanathorn’s eligibility as an MP was also revoked. Mr. Pita was appointed as the new leader of Move Forward, which was established shortly after as its replacement.
In Thailand, thousands of youth protested in the streets the year after the ban, calling for constitutional changes, fresh elections, and an end to the intimidation of human rights advocates and state opponents.
Move Forward, which has several of the 2020 protest leaders running as candidates, found popularity in this election in the need for change and in many of those same causes.
As an opposition MP, Mr. Pita made controversial statements that earned him the title of “rising star” in the Thai parliament. His party’s audacious pledges to challenge the military’s political sway and change monarchy-related legislation further contributed to his party’s appeal.
He has promised to lift Thailand out of what he terms a “lost decade” and to replace the current military government with a new one that would upend the constitution.
Also read: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate to Head Bangladesh’s Interim Government
The “demilitarize, demonologies, and decentralize” of Thailand was Mr. Pita’s top priority, he stated in a campaign interview with Bloomberg last year.
Mr. Pita Limjaroenrat took on the Thai monarchy and military-aligned elite, demanding an end to the country’s lèse-majesté laws and addressing military dominance.
The rich Thai family who raised Mr. Pita was active in politics. His uncle served as an aide to the previous Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown, while his father advised the agriculture ministry.
His interest in politics began when he was sent to school in New Zealand.
Mr. Pita completed his studies at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Harvard University for his master’s degree in public policy, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his MBA, winning him a bachelor’s degree in finance.
He has defined himself, “An American product of public policy schools.”
His business career began when he assumed control of his late father’s rice bran oil company. Later, he joined Grab Thailand as an executive director of the ride-hailing startup. He was wed in 2019 to Thai actress-model Chutima Teenpanart, but the pair separated. Pipim, who is seven years old, is his only child, and he has taken him to Move Forward events.
