The Ombudsman will be petitioned to ask the Constitutional Court to rule whether a Section 44 order on political parties violates the charter, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.
The order has drawn flak from the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties.
Under the order, members of existing parties must produce letters to confirm their membership and pay party fees within 30 days of April 1 or they will lose their status.
The order also gives new parties a one-month head start. Existing parties will not be able to begin the registration process until April 1 next year, while new parties can start forming on March 1.
Mr Abhisit said the legal team of his party began drafting the petition yesterday and it will be later submitted to the Ombudsman.
He questioned why existing members cannot confirm their membership status with parties' leaders through electronic channels.
The order also has an obligation that existing members must show evidence that they are still eligible to remain attached to the party, Mr Abhisit said, adding he was puzzled as to what kind of the evidence this would require.
"I think this [requirement] undermines rights and places a burden on party members," said Mr Abhisit, adding that the requirement for more than three million members to re-register within the 30-day window would put an excessive strain on his party.
According to the former premier, Section 77 of the constitution stipulates that any laws which are to be rolled out must have undergone a public hearing and be sent to the Constitutional Court to verify if they are constitutional, he said.
The National Council for Peace and Order failed to proceed with such processes, he noted, adding that the NCPO leader's use of power must not conflict with the charter.