On Thursday, the Move Forward Party (MFP) passed a resolution to expel Prachinburi MP Wutthipong Thonglao from the party and censure Bangkok MP Chaiyamphawan Manpianjit for the current parliamentary session because of their involvement in sexual misconduct cases, a serious violation of party values and principles. The decision drew criticism from party supporters who felt Chaiyamphawan should also have been expelled. 

MFP announced the resolution at a joint meeting of party representatives and executives. Chaithawat Tulathon, MFP Secretary-General, stated that during the meeting, the cases were discussed and the participants concluded that both involved clear violations of party discipline.

Chaithawat explained that the maximum penalty for such offences is expulsion from the party, while lesser penalties, such as the suspension of certain rights, can be imposed, depending on the circumstances.

To expel an MP from a party, the constitution dictates that the resolution must have the support of a three-fourths majority of the party's executive committee and MPs combined. In this case, that would be 116 votes from the total of 154 members. On the day of the meeting, only 128 members were present.

In Wutthiphong's case, participants passed a resolution to expel him from the party.  A majority of those present also voted to expel Chaiyamphawan but it did not reach the requisite three-fourths majority vote. Although he remains a member of the MFP, his rights as party member (such as the right to use the party's logo in election campaign) have been suspended for the duration of this parliamentary session.

According to the Secretary-General, Chaiyamphawan was told to acknowledge his wrongdoing, apologise to society, and provide restitution as required by the victims. He added that if the MP fails to meet these condition, he faces expulsion from the party.  It was reportedly also agreed at the meeting that any similar instances of misconduct will result in party expulsion.

After the verdict was made public, many party MPs expressed their disapproval. Some called for Chaiyamphawan to resign for the sake of the party's reputation. Several female MPs also protested by changing their social media profile pictures to black.

Pannika Wanich, one of the party’s de-facto leaders, called for Chaiyamphawan to resign, citing the fact that 106 members of the party voted to expel him.

Chaiyamphawan adamantly denies the allegations against him.

Meanwhile, Wutthipong was also critical of the investigation conducted by the party's ethics committee.  He claims that he was treated unfairly and that the investigation lacked involvement from an independent third party.