Thailand Politics
Billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit Thailand’s Rising Political Star Under Fire as Election Nears
BANGKOK – In Bangkok young people line up to take selfies with him. His hashtags are trending. And when billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit promises an end to Thailand’s military “dictatorship”, supporters of his Future Forward Party roar their approval.
The 40-year-old heir to an auto parts fortune is a political newcomer and social media star who has energized young voters ahead of March 24 elections, the first since a coup in 2014.
“I urge our ‘Futuristas’ to campaign against the future in which the junta leader comes back as a prime minister,” Thanathorn said at a rally on Saturday.
His message has drawn the attention of police, who want to prosecute him under the Computer Crime Act for criticizing the junta in a Facebook video in June. If found guilty of uploading false information, he could face up to five years in prison.
He denies wrongdoing, and will meet on Wednesday with prosecutors who will decide whether to take the case to court.
Thanathorn also faces a lobbyist’s petition asking the Election Commission to disqualify him as a candidate.
These moves, he said, are a sign that his left-wing party is worrying those who want to see the military retain broad power.
“It’s fear. Nobody thought we’d come this far. This is dictatorship’s last struggle for life,” he told Reuters.
Posts shared on social media have cast him as anti-royalist, a serious accusation in a country where criticism of the king is against the law. Thanathorn calls it a smear campaign.
“It’s clear we’ll be playing a significant role after the election. The only way to undermine us is to destroy our credibility by means of law, fake news and hate speech,” he said.
NEW POLITICS?
He promises a new kind of politics to heal the divisions of the past 15 years and reduce the role of the military. The challenge for Thanathorn – nicknamed “Daddy” on social media – will be to turn his online popularity into votes.
The election is broadly seen as a race between the military-backed royalist prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, and supporters of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a 2006 coup.
Parties loyal to Thaksin have won every election since 2001, but after he was ousted, successive governments have been removed by courts or coups, most recently in the 2014 military takeover.
Thai opinion polls can be unreliable, but a Feb. 20-23 survey showed Future Forward topping a list of favored parties with 37.8 percent support, compared to 7.5 percent a month ago.
The February poll conducted by Bansomdej University surveyed 1,152 people in Bangkok, with a three percent margin of error.
Other polls had Future Forward’s support at below 10 percent and lagging the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai party or the Palang Pracharat party, with junta leader Prayuth as its candidate.
#FAHLOVESDADDY
A former student activist, Thanathorn took over his late father’s Thai Summit Group at age 23. Before entering politics, he was known for running ultra-marathons in the Arctic and Sahara, and trekking in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains.
He has been embraced by social-media savvy youth, many of them politicized in a way rarely seen since state forces crushed student pro-democracy movements in the 1970s..
About 14 percent of the electorate, or 7 million people, are eligible to vote for the first time next month.
They have lived through Thailand’s “color wars”, with anti-Thaksin Yellow Shirt protesters and the ex-premier’s loyalist Red Shirts alternatively paralyzing Bangkok for weeks at a time.
Last week, “#SaveThanathorn” topped Thai-language Twitter after police said they would prosecute him for cyber crimes.
Another hashtag, “#FahLovesDaddy”, had fans jokingly comparing the candidate to a soap opera character “Daddy,” a charismatic businessman pursued by a female protagonist, Fah.
He tweeted back “#DaddyAsksFah” to urge supporters to vote.
“He’s speaking the same language as the new generation, in terms of mindset, world view, perception,” said political scientist Titipol Phakdeewanich of Ubon Ratchathani University.
“GAME OVER FOR DEMOCRACY”
Thanathorn said he was confident his party could send at least 70 members to the 500-member House of Representatives.
That could be enough to influence a coalition against military rule, analysts said, even if his candidacy is in doubt.
On Monday, a lobbyist petitioned election officials to disqualify Thanathorn, alleging he had misled voters in a party biography that described him as chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, when he in fact had led a provincial chapter.
Thanathorn said the “technical error” was corrected.
Another pro-Thaksin party, Thai Raksa Chart, faces possible dissolution after it nominated the king’s sister, Princess Ubolratana, as its candidate for prime minister.
“With one month left, who knows what magic tricks the junta still has up their sleeves?” Thanathorn said. “If the junta manages to destroy both Thai Raksa Chart and Future Forward, it’s game over for democracy”.
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat
Thompson Reuters

Thailand Politics
Thai Prime Minister’s Popularity Declines as Move Forward Party dominates

(CTN News) – Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin continues to make local and international visits to try to solve problems and promote Thailand, but he has failed to impress most voters, according to a Nida poll. The poll also revealed the declining popularity of Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the rise of the Move Forward Party.
According to a poll released on Sunday, only 12.85% of people supported the prime minister, down from 17.75% in the previous survey. The daughter of convicted former Prime Minister Thaksin, currently on parole, saw her popularity drop from 6% to 4.85%.
The National Institute of Development Administration conducts a quarterly survey of the public’s preferred political leaders. The last survey was released at the end of March.
According to the survey, supporters of the prime minister described Mr Srettha as a resolute decision-maker determined to address their problems. Ms Paetongtarn was complimented for her vision, leadership, knowledge, and grasp of the country’s difficulties.
This weekend, the prime minister will be in the northeast region listening to citizens’ concerns. The journey occurred only a few days after he had visited northern provinces earlier in the week.
Despite criticism, he has reduced his abroad trips, citing the need to showcase Thailand to investors and traders.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the chief advisor of the Move Forward Party, remained the top candidate for prime minister with 45.50% of the vote, up slightly from 42.75% in the previous quarter’s poll.
Pirapan Salirathavibhaga was the huge winner. The leader of the United Thai National Party saw his popularity nearly quadruple from 3.55% to 6.85%.
The sampled voters stated they appreciated Mr Pita’s political beliefs and thought he had broad knowledge. They praised Mr Pirapan’s credibility, claiming he was clean and honest.
Two other probable prime minister candidates were Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan of the Thai Sang Thai Party and Anutin Chanvirakul, leader of Bhumjaithai. However, they were less popular than others.
About 20% of voters still did not believe any candidate was qualified to lead the country, which is the same percentage as in the last survey.
Move Forward Party was the most popular party with 49.20%, up slightly from three months ago, while Pheu Thai fell around five percentage points to 16.85% from 22.10%.
The poll, issued on Sunday, surveyed 2,000 ineligible voters between June 14 and June 18.
More in: Move Forward Party
Thailand Politics
Move Forward Party MP Jirat Thongsuwan Appeals Suspended Jail Sentence for Defamation

(CTN News) – Jirat Thongsuwan, a Move Forward Party MP, says he would appeal his one-year suspended jail sentence for defaming a former senior defense ministry official concerning the state’s procurement of bogus bomb detectors.
The Criminal Court also fined Mr Jirat 100,000 baht for falsely accusing ACM Tharet Punsri, a former Air Force chief-of-staff who later became the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, of being the chairman and shareholder of a company that supplied the military with the infamous GT200 bomb detectors.
The Chachoengsao MP claimed a July 20, 2022, no-confidence vote against cabinet ministers in Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government. ACM Tharet was not a cabinet member.
Jirat Thongsuwan also identified ACM Tharet as a key figure in the 2006 coup headed by then-army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, which overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra.
ACM Tharet told the court that Jirat Thongsuwan’s charges were false and harmed his reputation. He denied involvement with the bomb detection company and said he was not the company’s senior chairman or shareholder.
In addition to the suspended jail term and fine, the court ordered Jirat Thongsuwan to pay $ 500,000 baht in damages to ACM Tharet and publish an apology in three newspapers for five days.
Jirat Thongsuwan later announced on his X account that he had challenged the verdict with the hashtag “An injustice is infuriating”.
The MP has also been accused of dodging required military conscription. He admitted to the accusation on May 8.
A British business promoted the GT200 as a “remote substance detector” and sold it in several countries. Between 2004 and 2009, fourteen Thai government organizations, most of which were military, were projected to spend 1.4 billion baht on the units.
Concerns about the GT200 and related gadgets arose after the National Science and Technology Development Agency discovered they lacked electronic components.
The devices were later revealed to be “divining rods”.
Thailand Politics
Thaksin Shinawatra Files 100 Million Baht Defamation Lawsuit Against Warong Dechgitvigrom

(CTN News) – Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, has launched a defamation action against Warong Dechgitvigrom, the head of the Thai Pakdee Party, accusing him of paying a bribe to be released on bail in a lese majeste case.
Thaksin’s attorney, Winyat Chartmontree, filed a lawsuit against Warong, seeking 100 million baht in damages.
Warong, a long-time Thaksin Shinawatra critic, gave a public statement and posted on social media, saying that 2 billion baht was paid to judicial officials in exchange for release on bail in the lese majeste case.
Thaksin Shinawatra Granted Release on 500,000 Baht Bond
Thaksin was granted release on a 500,000 baht bond last week and told not to leave the country without court authorization after pleading innocent to charges of defaming King Rama IX in a 2015 interview with South Korean media.
Winyat stated that, while Warong did not identify Thaksin Shinawatra by name in his speech or post, he did include a hashtag with Thaksin’s name as well as the date Thaksin must appear in court, allowing readers to connect Thaksin to the allegations.
Winyat further stated that he was investigating the fact that Warong mentioned the specific aircraft and automobiles utilized by Thaksin Shinawatra to violate the Personal Data Protection Act.
“I have requested Mr Warong to provide proof as to where he received the data. “If it turns out that it came from state officials, there will be legal consequences,” he warned.
The Criminal Court has scheduled the case’s preliminary hearing for September 30.
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