The Thai Raksa Chart Party ( th, พรรคไทยรักษาชาติ, , ), officially known in English as the Thai Save the Nation Party, was a Thai political party established in 2009 as minor party under the name Rath Thai Party.

History

The party underwent a series of name changes throughout its existence, renaming itself to Thai Ruamphalang Party in 2010 before adopting its current name per the decision of the party's assembly at its convention in 2018. It had been observed that the party serves as a "backup party" for

Pheu Thai Party The Pheu Thai Party (PTP; th, พรรคเพื่อไทย, lit=For Thais Party, , ) is the third incarnation of a Thai political party founded by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Pheu Thai Party was founded on 20 Septemb ...

, as several former Pheu Thai MPs and ministers had confirmed to join the party for the 2019 Thai general election. The party's inaugural convention was held on 7 November 2018 at the Rama Gardens Hotel in Bangkok. The party debuted its new name and logo design similar to the Pheu Thai Party's logo, but with the "ท" letter featuring a circle in lieu of a triangle at the upper left. First Lieutenant Preechapol Phongpanich and Mr. Mitti Tiyapairat were elected to become the party's leader and secretary-general respectively.

Dissolution

On 8 February 2019, the party announced the nomination of Princess Ubolratana as its sole candidate for prime minister in the upcoming election. This unprecedented move was widely regarded as a "surprise" and a "political earthquake" as it marked the first time that a member of the

Thai royal family The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the ...

would become a candidate in electoral politics. However, King Vajiralongkorn issued a statement on the same day, prohibiting Princess Ubolratana from entering politics, stating that despite relinquishing her official status as royalty to marry a United States citizen in the past, she still has maintained close ties with the Royal Family and worked under the name of the monarchy, and it is against tradition, norms and culture to bring members of the Royal Family into politics. On 13 February 2019,

Election Commission of Thailand The Election Commission ( th, คณะกรรมการการเลือกตั้ง, ) is an independent government agency and the sole election management body of Thailand. It oversees government elections (parliamentary elections ...

submitted the request to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

for considering dissolution of the party for bringing members of the Royal Family into politics. The party was then dissolved with immediate effect on 7 March 2019 by the order of the Constitutional Court and its leaders banned from politics for a decade, citing customary law.

References

External links

* {{Thai political parties Political parties established in 2009 Defunct political parties in Thailand 2009 establishments in Thailand Political parties disestablished in 2019 Banned political parties in Thailand