Victory in General Election for Thailand's 8 Opposition Parties... Royal Defamation Law Amendment Excluded from Coalition Agreement

MFP and Opposition Concerns

Local media including the Bangkok Post reported on the 22nd that the coalition government formation plan being discussed by the eight opposition parties, including the Move Forward Party (MFP), which won the Thai general election, does not include pledges related to monarchy reforms such as the amendment of the lese-majeste law.

According to reports, the eight opposition parties including the MFP plan to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) containing agreements among the parties participating in the coalition government formation on the evening of the same day. Earlier, the MFP, led by leader Pita Limjaroenrat, emerged as the largest party in the parliament by winning 152 out of 500 seats in the Thai general election.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The previously disclosed draft of the MOU included the main directions and policies of the eight Thai opposition parties. Specifically, they agreed to pursue military reforms such as constitutional amendments and the abolition of conscription, legalization of same-sex marriage, reclassification of legalized marijuana as a drug, decentralization, land reform, amnesty for political prisoners, prohibition of monopolies in all industries including alcohol, tackling high inflation, and improving welfare for children and the elderly.

However, the amendment of the lese-majeste law (Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code), which was a major pledge of the MFP, was excluded. Thailand imposes a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment for insulting members of the royal family or the monarchy’s achievements, or for negative depictions of the royal family. While MFP leader Pita and others are actively pushing for the amendment of this law, other opposition parties such as the second-largest party, the Pheu Thai Party, hold negative views on this issue.

Meanwhile, although the eight opposition parties in Thailand are pushing for a coalition government, it remains uncertain whether a regime change will occur. To become the Prime Minister of Thailand, a majority of more than half of the combined seats in both houses of parliament (750 seats) ? that is, at least 376 seats ? must be secured, but the eight opposition parties currently fall short of this number.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.