Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday cleared thwarted prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat of violating election law in a case that could have seen him banned from politics, reinstating him as an MP.
The 43-year-old led the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) to win the most votes in last year’s general election, but was blocked from becoming Prime Minister after he was suspended as a lawmaker in July.
His party was excluded from the governing coalition after the powerful establishment was spooked by the MFP’s calls to reform the kingdom’s strict royal insult laws, the military and business monopolies.
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled by eight votes to one that Mr. Pita had not broken rules banning members of parliament from owning shares in media companies.
The case revolved around shares in the long-defunct ITV television station, which Mr. Pita says he inherited from his father when he died.
“ITV was not operating as a media company on the day the party submitted the respondent’s name for election,” judge Punya Udchachon said in reading the court’s verdict in the case.
“Holding the shares did not violate the law. The court has ruled his MP status has not ended.”
There were jubilant scenes outside the court as dozens of MFP supporters wearing the party’s orange colours cheered and chanted “PM Pita”.
After the ruling, Pita said he aimed to return to parliament “as soon as possible”, though it is not clear when this will be.
“We are asking the parliament when I am allowed to be back in — there is a discrepancy between two organisations, the court and the parliament. When I am allowed, I will be there,” he told reporters.
Even before the ruling, Pita insisted he would run for office again — but if the court had ruled against him, he would have faced disqualification from parliament altogether.
He reiterated in an interview with AFP late last year that he would take another tilt at the premiership, saying he was “not giving up”.
