MFP’s Pita accuses EC of double standards in dissolution bid

The chief adviser of the Move Forward Party (MFP) accused the Election Commission (EC) of employing double standards in its petition to the Constitutional Court to disband the party.

Pita Limjaroenrat, yesterday, June 30, updated the public on the MFP’s efforts to avoid a fate similar to its predecessor, the Future Forward Party, which was dissolved in 2020. He criticised the EC’s method of filing complaints against the MFP as unlawful.

Pita argued that the EC’s decision relied solely on Section 92 of the organic law on political parties. This section authorises the EC to request the Constitutional Court to disband a party without conducting a thorough inquiry.

According to Pita, Section 93 of the law cannot be applied independently of Section 92. Applying these sections separately in a party dissolution case results in a double standard, he claimed.

Section 92 stipulates that when there is credible evidence that a party has engaged in actions undermining the constitutional monarchy, the EC should petition the court to dissolve that party.

Section 93, on the other hand, requires the party registrar to collect facts and evidence and present them to the EC for consideration, following the commission’s specified rules and methods.

Pita pointed out that the EC could use only Section 92 to expedite a party dissolution case but if it wants to slow down the process, it could use both sections consecutively.

“If both sections are applied separately in the MFP’s dissolution case, it would be on an ‘expressway’ to dissolution compared to the slow lanes other parties are placed on.

“The question is, can the EC use its discretion like this without anyone else involved in the decision?”

Pita also stressed the importance of allowing a party facing dissolution to dispute the charges with the EC. This point is supported by a document drafted by the EC in November last year, which states that a party facing such a case must be allowed to acknowledge and argue the case before it is submitted to the court.

In response to the MFP’s complaints, the EC has denied treating the party unjustly. The court has ordered the MFP to prepare evidence within seven days for a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, July 3, reported Bangkok Post.