• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Future Forward Party

Thailand held its first general election since the 2014 coup on 24 March 2019. In December 2018, the government lifted the ban on political gatherings and canvassing, which had been in force for more than four years. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the head of the Thai military who led the coup, was the sole prime ministerial nominee of the Palang Pracharat Party. He was challenged by Sudarat Keyuraphan, the leader of the Pheu Thai Party, which supports Thailand’s ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra; Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party; and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit of the Future Forward Party.

The leader of the Future Forward party, Thanathorn is enjoying growing support, especially among young voters. He advocates for ending the rule of the current military-dominated government. In March 2019, his party came third in the general elections, obtaining almost a quarter of all parliamentary seats.

Thailand's Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit on 16 May 2019 held a press conference to offer himself the post of prime minister. Thanathorn, in the party's headquarters in Bangkok, assured that he was ready to become the head of a coalition government following the March 24 election. Thanathorn noted that many people have been confused and desperate to see some positive changes in post-election politics. The Future Forward Party leader confirmed that he has held talks with the leaders of some other parties.

The current administration, led by former army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha, had placed increasing pressure on the party after it spoke out against the government. In November 2019, the court disqualified party leader Thanathorn as a member of parliament. It said he infringed on a law by holding shares in a media company while being an election candidate.

In January 2019, the party narrowly escaped a separate attempt at disbandment, after being acquitted of trying to overthrow the monarchy - allegations that the FFP and Thanathorn strongly denied. Natthaporn Toprayoon, a lawyer by trade, said he was merely following his duty to protect the monarchy from the Future Forward Party, whom he accused of republicanism and resemblance to the fictitious Illuminati cult in his complaint. The lawyer also said he only filed complaints against the Future Forward Party because it’s the only party in the Parliament who has a track record of campaigning against the monarchy. His lawsuit asked the court to dissolve the party on charges of abusing liberty granted under the charter to sabotage the Constitutional Monarchy regime. The party was also accused of being anti-military, for supporting policies against forced conscription, among other allegations. To date, it has faced at least 28 legal challenges.

Thailand's constitutional court ruled 21 February 2020 that Future Forward, a rising opposition party, must be dissolved. The court ordered the party to be dissolved and also banned the executive party members from political activity for 10 years, as it found that the party intentionally evaded the voting law. The election commission petitioned the court in December 2019. It accused the party of receiving an illegal amount of money from a single individual, the billionaire party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, for the party's election campaign and trying to hide it under loan contracts.

The party became the third-largest force in the parliament after gaining support mainly from young voters in the general election in March 2019. Thanathorn, an auto-parts billionaire-turned-politician, admitted to loaning the money to finance political activities. But he maintained that the country's electoral law allows such a loan contract.

Yingcheep Atchanont, project manager at iLaw, an organisation of lawyers focusing on freedom of expression, told Al Jazeera: "As an institution that was a cornerstone for representing a democratic system, the political party [FFP] as an institution, should not have been dissolved unless it committed a grave breach against a democratic system or showed an attempt to achieve political power through unconstitutional or undemocratic means," Atchanont said on the controversial court ruling.

Commenting on the verdict, Thanathorn told NHK World: "I think it's clear that a liberal, progressive political party is not allowed to exist in this country. So we are sad about what happened. But as long as the junta rules, the struggle continues. Today, I announced the formation of Future Forward Movement. This movement, we will go to all the provinces in Thailand to promote the democratic agenda; we will promote the military reform agenda."

"If you think disbanding us is going to stop us from getting involved in politics - you’re wrong. Thanathorn and I will get involved even more... This is not the end, this is the beginning. We are monsters created by Time to haunt people from the old era" said party Secretary General, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul.

Political observers speculate that if the party is dissolved, supporters could mobilise online and on the streets. Many of the party supporters are young and highly active on social media. An expert on Thai politics sees potential unrest ahead. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said: "The dissolution of Future Forward would lead to a buildup, would accumulate and add, compound, the grievances that people already have. And sometime at some point when the conditions ripened, we could see them in the streets. Basically, we are seeing a kind of a combustible. It can explode."

There's speculation that the dissolution is politically motivated as the decision came three days before the start of a no confidence motion in the parliament against Prime Minister Prayut.