Supreme Court Removes 'June Chayanant' as Ratchaburi MP Candidate over Media Ownership

The Supreme Court has ordered the removal of June Chayanant from the Pheu Thai Party's MP candidate list in Ratchaburi over media company stock ownership, even after she had sold her shares. On January 31, 2024, the Election Court issued a ruling in case number ลต สสข 17/2569, removing Ms. Chayanant Jindajia from the candidate list for Ratchaburi's 3rd district, Candidate No. 8 from the Pheu Thai Party, due to media company stock ownership. Reports indicate that Ms. Chayanant registered as a district-level MP candidate for the Pheu Thai Party on December 27, 2023. Subsequent investigations revealed she was a shareholder in RS Public Company Limited, a media company. Ms. Chayanant admitted to owning 220 shares, which she sold on January 21, 2024. However, the court determined that on the registration date (December 27, 2023), Ms. Chayanant was still a media company shareholder, making her ineligible to run for election. Even though she subsequently sold all her shares, this did not retroactively restore her eligibility. The Supreme Court ordered her removal from the Ratchaburi 3rd district candidate list, citing Article 98(3) of the Constitution and Article 42(3) of the Organic Act on Parliamentary Election, which prohibits media company ownership even for a single share. Previously, Ms. Chayanant had been a candidate for Ratchaburi's 3rd district under the Thai Nation Building Party in 2023, and was now competing again under the Pheu Thai Party.