The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will give a green light to the formation of new political parties while limiting the activities of existing parties but assures the next general election will be held next November as announced.
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said that the NCPO meeting on Tuesday decided that its chief and prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha would exercise the existing Section 44 of the previous interim constitution to permit the formation of new political parties.
The upcoming order of the NCPO chief will allow founders of new political parties to reserve party names, recruit members, collect membership fees and organise their first general assemblies to select their leaders and executives. However, they need to seek permission from the NCPO before conducting such activities.
Lt Gen Sansern said that in the meantime the NCPO would not allow 69 existing political parties to have their general assemblies but would let them review their old memberships.
The NCPO would allow all political parties to conduct their activities after the promulgation of the organic law on the election of House representatives, expected in June next year. That meant that all political parties would have 150 days to prepare themselves before the next general election, the government spokesman said.
Gen Prayut would plan the timetables for the relevant political activities and the NCPO would issue the order within this year, Lt Gen Sansern said. He assured that the next general election would be organised in November next year as Gen Prayut earlier announced.
The NCPO would not permit all political activities at the moment because security authorities detected political movements that could not justify the permission, the government spokesman said.
Meanwhile, assistant government spokesperson Taksada Sangkhajan said Gen Prayut would hold cabinet meetings in Phitsanulok and Sukhothai provinces on Dec 25 and 26. During the trip, he would also meet the provincial governors, local operators and community leaders.