A key party linked to Thailand's powerful Shinawatra clan has been dissolved by a court, just weeks before a general election, over its ill-starred bid to front a princess as a candidate.
Thai Raksa Chart, which is tied to ex-premiers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, proposed Princess Ubolratana as its prime ministerial candidate if its bloc emerged with a lower house majority after the March 24 election.
It was an unprecedented move in a constitutional monarchy where royals are officially above the political fray, and prompted a rare public rebuke by her younger brother, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who issued a royal command declaring the party's move "inappropriate".
The princess is in Germany, according to her posts on Instagram and expressed sadness over the decision.
“It’s a very sad and depressing story,” the princess said in an Instagram comment, replying to supporters informing her of the news.
The Thai king’s sister made a failed bid to run for prime minister – but later apologised for causing 'problems'. Source: AAP
Thai Raksa Chart was found guilty of committing an act "hostile to the constitutional monarchy" by the nine-member Constitutional Court who unanimously voted to dissolve the party.
Party executives - including two Shinawatra family members - were also banned from politics for a decade.
"The monarchy is above politics and to maintain political neutrality, the king, the queen and princesses can never exercise political rights by casting votes," judge Nakharin Mektrairat said at the end of an extensive ruling.
Thai Raksa Chart Party leader Preechapol Pongpanich performs a Thai greeting as he and the party's executive members arrive at the court ahead of the ruling. Source: AP
Dissolution is a hammer blow to the prospects of the powerful Shinawatra clan winning a parliamentary majority in March 24 polls.
Thai Raksa Chart was established to back up the Shinawatra's main political vehicle Pheu Thai, which won 2011 elections with a landslide.
Ubolratana's bid for PM was quashed after the king said her involvement in politics inappropriate. Source: AP
Its downfall is a major fillip to their army-allied rivals who are fielding current junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha as their candidate for premier.
Thai Raksa Chart was set to compete in 174 constituencies with 108 candidates vying for seats through the party list - a system to allocate extra parliamentary seats according to the proportion of votes they scoop up.
Grim-faced party executives, all dressed in black suits and led by party leader Preechapol Pongpanich, filed out of the Constitutional Court through the ranks of media.
Members of the media and passerby listen as a Thai Constitution Court judge reads the verdict on Thai Raksa Chart Party's dissolution. Source: AP
The same court has disbanded two other parties linked to the Shinawatra dynasty - and toppled two of its prime ministers - in the last 13 years of political turmoil since Thaksin was booted from office by a coup in 2006.
'Deja vu'
The intervening years have seen short-lived civilian governments, bloody street protests and another coup - against Thaksin's sister Yingluck in 2014 - that brought the current junta to power.
There were tears among the smattering of die-hard supporters gathered near the court.
Thais last voted in a general election in 2011 and have returned Shinawatra-linked parties at every poll since 2001.
But Pheu Thais' electoral dominance has been cast into doubt by a new system crafted by the junta specifically to limit the number of seats it can win.
Preechapol Pongpanich (C) and other party members arrives at the Constitutional Court. Source: AP
The court ruling was "deja vu", said political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University.
With 18 days to go to the polls, tensions are rising.
The country is deeply divided between those who loathe the military and fear its return to office after elections, and the anti-Thaksin camp.
The princess at the centre of the drama is currently in Berlin promoting tourism to Thailand's northeast.
"Today, I'd like to continue to work for Thailand," she said in an Instagram post Wednesday, hashtagged "#Doittogether".
