<![CDATA[Thai elections: Thai Raksa Chart party that put Princess Ubolratana forward as candidate for PM defiant ahead of court ruling on controversial move]>

The political party that stunned Thailand with its now-vetoed nomination of King Maha Vajiralongkorn's sister as its prime ministerial candidate has resumed campaigning following a temporary suspension, with its leaders putting up a defiant front ahead of a court ruling over the contentious move.

Chaturon Chaisang, one of the Thai Raksa Chart party's top leaders, said this week that he and his colleagues would continue to campaign as usual until the Constitutional Court decides their fate. The nine-judge bench, which constitutes junta-ruled Thailand's apex court, will convene next Wednesday.

Chaturon Chaisang with a supporter in Bangkok on Wednesday. Photo: Handout

"What we are doing here is walking along the street, meeting with people, talking about our policy, [and] our determination to mitigate the economic problems in this country," Chaturon told reporters on Wednesday while on the campaign trail in Bangkok.

The party, which is aligned with Thailand's powerful Shinawatra family, resumed visible campaigning in the country's capital on Tuesday, after suspending most of its activities in the aftermath of the fallout that ensued from its shock decision to nominate Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya as its pick to be prime minister after the March 24 elections.

The 67-year-old princess had accepted the candidacy, but her brother issued a public rebuke hours later, claiming his sister was in breach of constitutional demands for royals to be above the political fray. Days later the election commission blocked the move on the same grounds and referred the case to the Constitutional Court, which is being asked to deliberate on whether the party should be dissolved for breaching election rules.

Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya at the official internment of her father's ashes in 2017. Photo: EPA

Chaturon declined to comment on the court case. "I have already made it clear that we are not going to make any comment concerning the case in the Constitutional Court [or] any dimension of it," he said.

Thai Raksa Chart is among the bloc of parties linked to exiled siblings Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra that are seeking to defeat allies of the ruling military junta at the polls " the first since a coup in 2014. Chaturon was a senior lieutenant to both siblings during their respective tenures as prime minister of the country.

Supporters who gathered on Wednesday to show their support of Chaturon told This Week in Asia that they were bullish about the party's chances of escaping censure.

A 24-year-old Bangkok-based student said he turned up at the campaign event as he deeply admired Chaturon. "I admire [his] stance on democracy and I want to support the political party that vows to fight the junta," said the student, who gave his first name as Tossawat.

VERDICT IMMINENT?

All eyes in the election frenzied kingdom will now be on the Constitutional Court hearing next Wednesday. Observers say a verdict is likely to come straight after the hearing, although there remains a slim chance that the court could prolong the process until after the polls.

The Constitutional Court has played a major role as political adjudicator in recent decades, amid the seemingly unending stand-off between allies of the rural-backed Shinawatras on one hand and pro-military metropolitan elites on the other.

It has been convened some nine times since the ousting of Thaksin in 2006 by a military coup. Its last case was in 2014, when it ruled that Yingluck had to step down as prime minister.

A supporter of the Shinawatras wear a T-shirt showing Thaksin and Yingluck. Photo: EPA

The military, led by current junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, subsequently staged another putsch, and has been in power ever since. Prayuth is the prime ministerial candidate of the Palang Pracharat Party " widely viewed as the political vehicle of the ruling generals.

Surachai Chinchai, a member of Thai Raksa Chart's legal team, released details on Wednesday of the direction the party intends to take in court.

He said it had "innocent intent" in nominating Ubolratana, despite claims by its opponents that it had done so in a deliberate move to undermine the institution of monarchy.

Surachai Chinchai, legal adviser to the Thai Raksa Chart party. Photo: Bloomberg

Criticising the election commission for hastily deciding to escalate the matter to the Constitutional Court without first conducting investigations on its own, Surachai said the party hopes to call 19 witnesses to testify before the court.

Constitutional law expert Panat Tasneeyanond said he saw no issue with the Thai Raksa Chart party continuing its campaigning activities ahead of the court date.

"If the [verdict] is issued before the election on March 24, it would mean that all of the party candidates would be disqualified," said Panat, a former dean of Thammasat University's law faculty. "But if the decision arrives after the approval of election results, the candidates should be able to apply for membership in other parties [and maintain their MP status]."

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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