THE CONSTITUTIONAL Court will hand down its verdict on a petition the Election Commission filed against former Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat over holding 00.0035% shares in non-operating ITV channel on Jan. 24, 2024, Matichon newspaper said today (Dec. 20).
The court had ordered Pita to stop performing as MP on July 19 pending a ruling on the polling agency’s petition over holding the tiny fragment of the non-operating channel.
If found to have applied to run as an MP while holding shares in a media business, even though ITV stopped broadcasting a long time ago, he could lose his MP status.
Pita has submitted his explanation in this case while the court has examined three witnesses and aside from Pita himself the other two are the polling agency’s secretary-general Sawang Boonmee and ITV executive director Kim Siritaweechai.
On Dec. 15 the Constitutional Court will also start hearing a case filed against Pita as the first defendant and Move Forward Party as the second defendant on charges of “attempting to overthrow democratic system with His Majesty the King as Head of State” based on the party’s platform to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law.
This case was filed by Mr. Teerayut Suwankasorn, former lawyer for Phra Buddha Isara, an activist monk who was one of the leaders of the Shutdown Bangkok protests that led to the 2014 coup. He was later defrocked and is now known as Suvit Thongprasert.
CAPTION:
Top: Former Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat next to the Constitutional Court logo, above, and next to Move Forward Party logo, Top photo: Matichon, Front Page photo: Thai Rath
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