A Thai court on Thursday blocked the leader of a new anti-junta political party from taking his seat in Parliament while it determines whether he violated election rules.
The ruling is likely to increase political tensions in Thailand, where the military has seized power from elected governments twice in the past 13 years and courts regularly issue rulings that critics call biased.
The Constitutional Court accepted a case against Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who is accused of breaking election law by holding shares in a media company. The court barred him from taking his seat in the meantime. The court action came after the state Election Commission forwarded its recommendation to prosecute Thanathorn, asserting there was credible evidence against him.
Thanathorn has said he is not guilty of breaching the shareholding rule because the shares he held were transferred before he contested the election. However, the court said it was suspending him because he could be guilty as charged, which would be an "obstruction to the important work to the meetings in the House of Representatives."
If found guilty, he could be disqualified from office and barred from politics. The court said he would be given 15 days to submit clarifications in the case against him.
Future Forward finished third in March elections and aligned itself with parties seeking to stop the ruling junta's allies from forming a new government. Thanathorn has said his party would support a bid to take power by another anti-military party, Pheu Thai, which won the most seats in the lower house. Last week, he said his party could lead a majority coalition and he was also ready to be prime minister.
The strong performance of the Future Forward Party in capturing 80 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives and its left-leaning positions, particularly its opposition to military involvement in politics, alarmed Thailand's conservative forces, which have pushed back strongly on social media and in the courts.
Opponents claim Thanathorn is just a stalking horse for disgraced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, since Pheu Thai is considered part of Thaksin's political machine.
At the same time, several legal cases on various grounds have been launched against Thanathorn and fellow party members.
Thanathorn's supporters say the charges against him and other party members are politically motivated. The Election Commission was appointed by the ruling junta's allies, while the Constitutional Court has a long history of ruling in favor of the country's conservative establishment, which despises Thaksin, a populist politician who was ousted by a 2006 military coup.
The military has ruled with a heavy fist since staging another coup in 2014 against a government formed by Thaksin's sister. It imposed new laws banning political gatherings and made active efforts to silence its critics.
The military-backed Palang Pracharath party is tipped to lead a government expected to be formed in the next few weeks and headed by the junta leader, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who staged the coup and has served as prime minister since then.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
