The Constitutional Court ruled the former leader of the Move Forward Party not guilty of the violation of election laws, which gives him the right to return to the parliament as a member of the opposition party.
Mr. Pita Limjaroenrat, former leader of Move Forward party, was caught in a political turmoil right before the general election in Thailand in 2022 with the case of him holding shares of Independent Television or ITV, a media company, which could be deemed as violation of election law in accordance with the Thai constitution and could cause him to lose his seat in the parliament.
The constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, B.E. 2560, section 160, stated the qualifications for the minister and prime minister positions that the person must not be under any of the prohibitions under section 98, which the section 98 (3) stated that the person who exercise the right to stand for election in an election of Members of the House of Representatives shall not be the owner of, or a shareholder in any newspaper or mass media business.
The story escalated as Mr. Pita disagreed with the case due to the fact that the firm had lost its broadcast concession since 2007, which meant that it should not be considered as a mass media organization.
The company’s name is still listed as operational in the data center.
On January 24, 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that Pita Limjaroenrat was not guilty due to the fact that ITV was not operating in media business at the time the leader of Move Forward Party was listed as MP.
