On a momentous Saturday, the Move Forward Party announced Chaithawat Tulathon, the party’s secretary-general, as its new linchpin following the stepping down of Pita Limjaroenrat due to a persisting ambiguity around his MP status. Chaithawat, however, asserts that the alteration might be short-lived, in light of legal complexities hindering Mr. Pita from exercising his duties as the opposition leader.
“If Mr. Pita is reassumed into his MP duties, myself and the newly appointed members of the executive committee are all prepared for a possible retreat,” stated Chaithawat at the general assembly of the party held over the weekend. Armed with a staggering 330 votes secured through an electronic voting system, Chaithawat only had 5 objection votes and 3 non-voting members against his leadership, he was the lone nominee making the decision almost unanimous.
Our new leader hails from Songkhla and is a 45-year-old environmental engineering graduate from Chulalongkorn University. This university stint marked his first endeavours into the political sphere, as he along with his former school buddy Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit became members of the Student Federation of Thailand.
When we look back at the roots of the Move Forward Party, we come across the Future Forward Party, a reform-oriented body that saw Thanathorn and Chaithawat as its primary founders. This body brought in surprisingly favourable results in the 2019 election, but it had to be disbanded a year after due to a Constitutional Court ruling claiming that a loan given to the party by Thanathorn was in violation of electoral norms.
The party gave birth to a new successor, Move Forward, which led the charts in the May 14th general election under the captaincy of Pita. But the endeavour to form a coalition government was thwarted due to deep-rooted opposition to their agenda to overhaul Section 112 of the Criminal Code, particularly the royal defamation law. The party was subsequently relegated to heading the opposition bloc.
Pita vacated his leadership role on September 15 due to his suspension, leaving a void in the opposition party’s leadership to oversee government activities. This is when Chaithawat stepped in to fill the void. In question, according to the Constitutional Court ruling on July 19, was whether Pita was aware of his probable disqualification during his candidature due to his stake in the now-defunct media company, iTV.
During the general assembly on Saturday, the party also addressed other structural changes with Apichart Sirisunthon ascending to the role of secretary-general. The assembly also introduced a new advisory group chaired by Pita joined by Weerayuth Kanchuchat, a member of the party’s economic team, and Detcharat Sukkamnerd, director of the Think Forward Center. The deputy party leaders named were Phicharn Chaowapattanawong, Nattawut Buaprathum, Supisan Phakdeenarunat and Sirikanya Tansakul, while Parit Watcharasindhu, a close relative of former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, was announced as the party spokesman.
With all eyes on the newly formed leadership, the question now remains – Can Chaithawat follow the footsteps of Thanathorn and position himself as the party’s true leader?
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