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State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday that the United States is concerned about developments in Thailand’s justice system, following two separate complaints against the leader of the party that won the majority of seats in the May 14 election.
Thailand is gearing up for a second vote on Wednesday on whether Pita Limjaronrat, leader of the progressive Move Forward party, can become prime minister.
PIDA, which wants to remove the military from politics and eliminate corporate monopolies, was given its first vote last week by the military-appointed Senate after a 2014 coup.
US officials have been tight-lipped about post-election developments in Thailand, a longtime military ally in the region where Washington is wary of China’s growing influence.
Asked about the situation in Thailand at a regular press conference, Miller said Washington did not support the outcome of the Thai election, but a process that reflected the will of the Thai people.
“We’ve been closely monitoring post-election developments — including the latest developments in the justice system, where they’re relevant,” Miller said.
Thailand’s Constitutional Court has accepted a complaint against Pita and Move Forward on a plan to change a law that bans insults against the royal family. The Election Commission also recommended that the same court disqualify Pita for owning shares in a media company that violated election rules.
The cases have raised fears that the court could disqualify BIDA or dissolve Move Forward, as the party’s predecessor Future Forward did in 2020.
When asked to comment on these possibilities, Miller said he “can’t speculate on how we might respond to events that haven’t happened yet,” but reiterated that recent developments are worrisome.
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