All 143 members of parliament from the court-dissolved Move Forward Party (MFP) joined their new political home on Friday, renamed the People’s Party.
The main opposition party is determined to form a single-party government after the next election three years from now, said its newly appointed leader, former IT executive Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut.
“The most sacred and enduring institution in a democratic political system is the people, who hold the highest power in governing the country,” the party said in a post on Facebook while announcing its new name and logo. A website is still under construction.
It will be a party by the people, for the people, to create a Thailand where the highest power will belong to the people, it said.
Mr Natthaphong, 37, also vowed to carry on with all the core policies that helped Move Forward win 14.4 million party-list votes in last year’s election — 3.5 million more than the Pheu Thai Party that now leads the government.
“Our mission from now on is to create a government of change in 2027,” he told reporters.
That mission will still include attempting to change Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law. The Constitutional Court cited the policy as the main reason for dissolving Move Forward on Wednesday and banning 11 of its executives from politics for 10 years.
“We propose to amend article 112 to ensure that this law is not a political tool used to abuse others, but we won’t be careless,” Mr Natthaphong said.
“We will continue to push for the improvement and fixing of this law, which is still problematic.”
The Move Forward Party's Facebook page changed its name and logo to 'People's Party' on Friday.
Mr Natthaphong, a list MP and former deputy secretary-general of Move Forward, was chosen as the party’s new leader at a gathering of MPs on Thursday night.
His selection came as a surprise to many political observers, who had expected Move Forward deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun to move into the leadership.
However, the 43-year-old economist said on Friday that it was never her intention to seek the leadership, adding that she was the one who nominated Mr Natthaphong for the job.
Ms Sirikanya will remain deputy leader of the People’s Party.
The party also selected a five-member executive board consisting of Mr Natthaphong, secretary-general Sarayoot Jailak, treasurer Chutima Khotchaphan, registrar Natthawut Buaprachum, and Picharn Chaopattanawong.
Mr Natthaphong, a computer engineering graduate from Chulalongkorn University, previously served as an executive of Absolute Management Solutions Co, a cloud service provider. He entered politics in 2019 with the Future Forward Party before it was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2020 on charges of violating election laws on donations to political parties.
The latest rebranding of the reformist party maintains its now-familiar orange colour scheme and another iteration of its inverted pyramid logo. The shape represents the elevation of people over the rulers, it said, adding that it also reflected quality and modernity.
The party also set a goal to raise 10 million baht from members by Aug 31. That goal, it turns out, was reached within the first nine hours of its existence on Friday.
The People’s Party is planning a series of events on Saturday to introduce itself to the public, at Stadium One in the Sam Yan area of Bangkok, from 10am to 8pm.
All 143 MPs from the court-dissolved Move Forward Party gathered in a meeting room at Thai Summit Tower on Friday morning to prepare for the introduction of its successor, the People’s Party. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)
