It seems unlikely that today’s talks between the Election Commission (EC) and the caretaker government will lead to any useful outcome.
The ruling Pheu Thai Party has stuck to its and the caretaker government’s position, and is set to take legal action against the EC.
Just one day before the planned talks, Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit pointed the finger at EC commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, in charge of election management.
According to Mr Prompong, Mr Somchai will be the only representative of the EC present during the talks, which makes any resolution unlikely.
Mr Prompong said Mr Somchai had already made a threat before the meeting began. He was referring to an earlier interview with Mr Somchai in which he said anyone threatening to file a lawsuit against the EC would be ejected from the meeting.
The Pheu Thai legal team insisted it was impossible to ask for a new royal decree to be issued on the inconclusive general election result as the EC had suggested. Doing so would only lead to the Feb 2 poll being ruled as invalid which could lead to Pheu Thai disbanding, said Mr Prompong.
Today’s talks were simply a chance for the EC to cover up its mistakes, he said. To prevent Pheu Thai from facing dissolution in the event that the Feb 2 election is declared invalid, the party intends to have all its poll candidates file complaints accusing the EC of violating Section 127 of the constitution.
The claims will also accuse the EC of violating the election law which requires the House of Representatives to be convened within 30 days after the election. The EC has set the re-rerun date for advance voting on April 20 and for polling stations which were halted due to protests on April 27.
Ahead of the talks Mr Somchai posted on his Facebook page seven questions which he said needed answers. The first question concerns the registration of candidates in the 28 constituencies which had no candidates. Mr Somchai asked what should be done in case the registration process is met with strong resistance.
Second, on the requirement for nine local people to be recruited to man each polling unit, he asked what should be done if no one cooperated? Third, on the distribution of ballots and equipment to each polling unit, he said at least five members of each unit are required to examine and accept them. How could this be done smoothly, he asked.
Other questions were what could be done if ballots are not received, if not all of the necessary equipment is available, and traffic routes to the polling units are blocked.
Then there was the problem of the role of police, the military and administrative officials during the lead-up to election day to ensure successful voting. Could the EC order them to do as it wishes? Could the EC dismiss them from the electioneering process if they do not comply with EC orders?
The last question is, since voting results from all 93,952 polling units are required in order to announce the winners, what should be done to complete the voting at 10,284 units where voting was cancelled on Feb 2?