#savethanathorn: twist in Thailand’s election dispute as Future Forward leader faces sedition charge

The embattled pro-democrat bloc that claimed victory in Thailand’s disputed election faced a fresh crisis on Wednesday as two of its leaders revealed they were facing criminal charges that could end their political careers.

The charges against the Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and his deputy Piyabutr Saengkanokkul have raised speculation that Prayuth Chan-Ocha – the incumbent military junta-backed prime minister now seeking to become leader of a civilian government – will use all means necessary to cripple the “Democratic Front” that claims to have beaten his political proxies in the March 24 vote.

The millennial-backed Future Forward emerged as the country’s number three party after the polls. Official results of the vote have not been finalised, but unofficial counts project the pro-democrat Pheu Thai party and Prayuth’s Palang Pracharat party to have finished first and second respectively.

Taking to Twitter and Facebook, Thanathorn posted an image of a police summons ordering him to appear at a police station on Saturday to face a sedition charge.