PM assures over political ban

PM assures over political ban

'Equality' for old and new parties a concern

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday insisted the regime would gradually ease its ban on political parties, and gave assurances it would be lifted in time to give politicians enough time to prepare for a general election.

He said the government was figuring out how to ensure "equality" for old and new parties under the new organic laws while noting that elections could not proceed now because those laws were not yet completed.

"When everything is ready ... the organic laws are ready, I will lift the ban and by lifting the ban, I mean I will do it step by step," he said.

Gen Prayut said the government would have to take into consideration the needs of old and new political parties, while rejecting claims by some large parties that they needed more time to prepare than small parties.

He hinted that allowing people to apply for party membership and make donations could be among the first restraints to be removed.

"The important things are membership and donations, as specified by the laws. This should be allowed in the future. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will see to it," he said.

The prime minister also pointed out he could not instruct the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to speed up its work as some might suggest.

He said he might make some suggestions as to which draft laws should be scrutinised, but he could not tell them to pass draft legislation into law.

According to Gen Prayut, the draft laws require due consideration and there is a time frame for the lawmaking process.

"The NLA is made up of various groups of people. Each law takes time to make. But politicians say I should use Section 44 to speed up the organic laws. How is that possible?" he said.

Political parties have been highly critical the regime's delay in lifting the political ban.

One of their concerns is the deadline for parties to file updated membership reports within 90 days of the organic law on political parties coming into effect.

They have until early January next year to comply.

Critics have also expressed concern that the regime's reluctance to lift the ban could cause a general election to be postponed until 2019.

Meanwhile, Paiboon Nititawan, former senator and ex-member of the defunct National Reform Council, has submitted a petition to the NLA seeking amendments to the organic law on political parties.

He said Section 140 and Section 141 of the law are unfair and should be amended to ensure fair treatment for new parties and new members.

These provisions deal with fees, membership and steps in forming new political parties.

According to Mr Paiboon, the law exempts existing members from paying membership fees for four years while requiring members of new parties to pay at least 1,000 baht.

He also said the application form for setting up a new party requires "too much" irrelevant personal information.

According to Mr Paiboon, the proposed amendments require that existing members of parties should not be registered until they too pay membership fees.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT