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| Thai Raksa Chart Party พรรคไทยรักษาชาติ Thais Save the Nation Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Preechapol Pongpanich |
| Secretary-General | Mitti Tiyapairat |
| Founded | 27 July 2009 |
| Dissolved | 7 March 2019 |
| Split from | Pheu Thai Party |
| Headquarters | 99/385, Chaeng Watthana Road, Thung Song Hong, Lak Si, Bangkok, Thailand |
| Ideology | Progressivism Economic liberalism Populism Antimilitarism |
| Political position | Centre to centre-left |
| Colours | Red, white, dark blue |
| Slogan | โลกก้าวไกล ไทยต้องก้าวทัน Keeping Thailand step up with global process |
| Website | |
| tsn | |
The Thai Raksa Chart Party (Thai: พรรคไทยรักษาชาติ, RTGS: Phak Thai Raksa Chat, pronounced [pʰák tʰāj rák.sǎː t͡ɕʰâːt]), officially known in English as the Thai Save the Nation Party, was a Thai political party.
History
The party was established in 2009 under the name Rath Thai Party. 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 served as a "backup party" for Pheu Thai Party, 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 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 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 was therefore considered against tradition, norms and culture to bring members of the royal family into politics.
Following the nomination, the Election Commission of Thailand submitted a request to the Constitutional Court on 13 February 2019 to consider a dissolution of the party. It was dissolved with immediate effect on 7 March by order of the Constitutional Court and its leaders banned from politics for a decade, citing customary law.
References
- "Party's Video presentation featuring party's slogan and logo". Facebook. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- "ข้อมูลพรรคการเมืองที่ยังดำเนินการอยู่ ณ วันที่ 22 มกราคม 2562 จำนวน 104 พรรคการเมือง" (in Thai). Election Commission of Thailand. January 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- "ประกาศนายทะเบียนพรรคการเมือง เรื่อง รับจดแจ้งการจัดตั้งพรรครัฐไทย" [Political parties registrar announcement Re: Rath Thai Party establishment register accepted] (PDF). Royal Thai Government Gazette (in Thai). 126 (part 99 D): 29. 3 September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- "ไทยรักษาชาติประชุมใหญ่คึกคัก ลูกหลานตระกูลชิน-รุ่นใหม่เพื่อไทยร่วมเพียบ". ข่าวสด (in Thai). 7 November 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- "Thai princess in extraordinary poll bid". BBC News. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- "Political earthquake". Bangkok Post. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- "Thai king condemns sister's bid to be PM". BBC News. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- "King bars Princess Ubolratana from entering politics". The Nation. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- "ประกาศ สถาบันพระมหากษัตริย์ตามรัฐธรรมนูญแห่งราชอาณาจักรไทย" (PDF). Royal Thai Government Gazette (in Thai). 8 February 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- "Constitutional Court disbands Thai Raksa Chart". Bangkok Post. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- correspondent, Hannah Ellis-Petersen South-east Asia (7 March 2019). "Thailand court bans party that nominated princess for PM". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - "Thai court bans party for nominating princess for PM". Reuters. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
