Future Forward Party will replace Thanathorn within a week

PHOTO: prachatai.com

A new face will soon be seen in Thailand’s parliament, following the Constitutional Court’s ruling against Future Forward Party’s maverick leader Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit, disqualifying him as an MP.

Thanathorn was disqualified after being accused of holding shares in a media company at the time of his application to run as a candidate in the general election last March.

Manop Kiri-Phuwadol, the 51st party-list candidate of Future Forward, will replace Thanathorn within a week. Manop, a member of a Karen hill tribe community, is a key figure of the ethnic group in northern Thailand, which seeks to improve the livelihood of ethnic peoples through higher produce prices and finding plots for farming.

Thanathorn has announced that although he is no longer a a Member of Parliament, he is still the party’s leader. Observers claim that 64 other members of Parliament held media company shares when they registered for the election.

SOURCE: The Nation