Popular Thai opposition leader loses parliamentary seat

Constitutional Court rules Thanathorn violated media shareholdings law

20191120 Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit 1

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of Thailand's anti-military Future Forward Party, talks to pedestrians in Bangkok on Nov. 20. (Photo by Rie Ishii)

MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writer

November 20, 2019 17:14 JST

Updated on November 20, 2019 19:24 JST

BANGKOK -- The popular leader of Thailand's Future Forward Party lost his seat in parliament on Wednesday when the Constitutional Court retroactively disqualified him from an election held in March.

The court voted 7-2 to strip 40-year-old Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit of his lawmaker status for failing to sell his holdings in V-Luck Media before filing his candidacy. Thanathorn, who has assets of 5.6 billion baht ($185 million), said he sold off his shares in the company a month before running for office and had provided evidence.