Future Forward Party
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The Future Forward Party (FFP) ( th, พรรคอนาคตใหม่, , ; literally 'New Future Party') was a political party in Thailand founded in March 2018 by
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit ( th, ธนาธร จึงรุ่งเรืองกิจ, , ; ; born 25 November 1978) is a Thai politician who served as the leader of the Future Forward Party until the party dissolved in 2020. From 200 ...
, former vice president of Thai Summit Group, and
Piyabutr Saengkanokkul Piyabutr Saengkanokkul ( th, ปิยบุตร แสงกนกกุล, , , born 23 October 1979) is a Thai academic, activist, former politician, and Secretary-General of the Progressive Movement, a socio-political group. He served as a ...
, a legal scholar. It was founded on a progressive platform that sought to restrain the military's power in Thai politics, decentralize the bureaucracy, and improve social and economic equality. The party was dissolved by the Constitutional Court on 21 February 2020.


History

In September 2018, the Future Forward Party was officially recognized by the
Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
, allowing the party to start registering members and solicit funding. In the 2019 election, the party won 30 constituency seats in parliament and 50 party-list MPs, including Thanathorn and Piyabutr, a result significantly better than had been expected for a new party. It also later gained an additional seat from a by-election in
Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...
, giving it a total of 81 seats. Following the election, the party faced various legal challenges, which party leader Thanathorn says are politically motivated. Thanathorn was accused of violating election law by the Election Commission, resulting in the Constitutional Court temporarily suspending his MP status until a ruling was reached. Despite this, FFP and six allied anti-junta parties nominated Thanathorn as a candidate for prime minister, but lost to incumbent prime minister and junta leader
Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; th, ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา, ; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai politician and retired Royal Thai Army, army officer who has served as the Prime Minister of T ...
. Thanathorn was ultimately disqualified by the Constitutional Court. One prominent case against the party, which the Constitutional Court accepted in July 2019, alleged that FFP sought to overthrow the monarchy. As evidence, the resemblance between the party's triangular symbol and that of the
Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...
was cited. The case was dismissed in January 2020. On 16 December 2019, the party's executives and MPs voted to expel four MPs who had consistently voted against the party line, reducing its total to 76 MPs. The party was dissolved in a Constitutional Court ruling on 21 February 2020, which said that the party was in violation of election laws regarding donations to political parties. The party was loaned 191.2 million
baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. Society for Worldw ...
(about US$6 million) from its leader, Thanathorn, which, according to the court, counted as a donation. The dissolution order drew criticism from commentators inside and outside the country, who characterized it as part of the military's continued interference in Thai politics, noting that the party's vocal anti-military position made it a target and that the other parties' finances were not similarly scrutinized.


The future of Future Forward

Prior to the court ruling that disbanded his party, Thanathorn disclosed in an interview that, in the event of the party's dissolution, "...we will continue our political journey as a social movement, we'll build a new one outside the parliament. If they dissolve our party, there will be two paths running in parallel—one is a new party in parliament, running under a new name but the same ideology, and the second is a social movement...." The court decision meant that the 65 remaining Future Forward MPs had to find a new party within 60 days. Ten list seats held by now-banned party executives will also have to be reallocated. It is not clear whether the Election Commission will allow candidates on the FFP party list to replace those ten. Competing parties were expected to woo the displaced Future Forward MPs, but the FFP stated that a new party would be ready to accommodate those who wanted to continue its work. A few days after the dissolution, nine MPs defected from the party to join the
Bhumjaithai Party Bhumjaithai Party (BJT; th, พรรคภูมิใจไทย, , ; 'Thai Pride Party') was founded on 5 November 2008, in anticipation of the 2 December 2008 Constitutional Court of Thailand ruling that dissolved its "de facto predecessor ...
in the government coalition. On 8 March 2020, 55 of the remaining 56 MPs announced their relocation to the
Move Forward Party The Move Forward Party ( th, พรรคก้าวไกล, ) is a social democratic and progressive political party in Thailand that opposes the remaining influence of the military junta, which ruled the country from 2014 to 2019. It was f ...
under
Pita Limjaroenrat Pita Limjaroenrat ( th, พิธา ลิ้มเจริญรัตน์, , ; born 5 September 1980), nicknamed Tim ( th, ทิม), is a Thai politician and businessman. A member of the House of Representatives, Pita is the leader of ...
, vowing to continue the work of Future Forward. The remaining member joined the
Chartthaipattana Party The Chartthaipattana Party ( th, พรรคชาติไทยพัฒนา ''Phak Chat Thai Phatthana'', (CP) ''Thai Nation Development Party'') was founded on 18 April 2008, in anticipation of the 2 December 2008, Constitutional Court of ...
. The extra-parliamentary successor of the FFP, the
Progressive Movement Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...
, has been announced by former party leader Thanathorn, with an agenda of pushing for further reforms and amending the constitution. The Election Commission is likely to hear criminal charges against the FFP's leadership, which could result in three to five years imprisonment.


Founding members

}). * Prempipat Plitpholkarnpim, New Ground * Farit Damarou, Thai–Muslim Undergraduate Students' Association. * Puwakorn Srinian, radio DJ and political activist. * Vorakorn Ruetaivanichkul, co-founder, managing director, and filmmaker at Hello Filmmaker. * Wipaphan Wongsawang, founder of * Sustarum Thammaboosadee, university lecturer and political activist with social democratic agenda. * Surin Kamsook, president, Union of Printing and Packaging Industry, representing 1,100 members. * Anukul Saiphet, digital agriculturist and social entrepreneur. * Alyssa Bindoosa, student, Faculty of Law,
Prince of Songkla University Prince of Songkla University (PSU) ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยสงขลานครินทร์; ) is the first university in southern Thailand, established in 1967. The name of the university was granted by the King Bhumibol ...
, and leader of the youth project 'Law Long Beach'.


Party leadership

Future Forward's executive committees were elected in a vote during the party's first official meeting in May 2018.


Election results


References


Further reading

*


External links


Panel discussion featuring party leader Thanathorn Jungrungreangkit
at the
Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) was founded in the 1957 in Bangkok's Patpong area. It is considered the oldest and largest press club in Southeast Asia. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam were m ...
(YouTube video) {{Thai political parties Political parties established in 2018 Political parties in Thailand 2018 establishments in Thailand Political parties disestablished in 2020 Banned political parties in Thailand Left-wing parties in Thailand