Political parties are allowed to receive donations but they need to seek approval from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the Election Commission (EC) says.
EC secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma was responding to reports that it warned the Future Forward Party against receiving donations after the party announced its donations and revenues from souvenir sales had reached nearly 20 million baht.
Pol Col Jarungvith said the warning was given as the NCPO's order that bans political activities remains in place.
To avoid breaking the order, which is a law, parties that wish to seek donations can seek permission from the NCPO through the EC, he said.
The donations, however, must be made in line with the organic law on parties, in which a person is not allowed to donate more than one million baht per year and a juristic person is prohibited from giving above 10 million baht in donation per year.
Donating over the limits would be breaking the law, said Pol Col Jarungvith, adding such offences could lead to the dissolution of parties.
The practice, he said, breaches the law's spirit that prevents parties from coming under the influence of financial supporters.
Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit Sunday said his party merely earned money from membership fees and product sales. It has not yet received donations, he said.
His party aims to get 300 million baht in seed funds, he said, adding the party has only about two and a half months to reach that target before the royal decree on the election is rolled out, possibly in January.
He said the party would declare its accounting report to the public every quarter of the year.
Pol Col Jarungvith later attended a seminar on the media's preparedness to cover the election organised by the Thai Journalists Association (TJA) on Sunday.
Party rules for the poll start with the stipulation that a party must have at least 500 members who have qualifications on par with applicants for the general election, set up regional branches and have a one-million-baht seed fund.
The EC, meanwhile, has set up tambon democracy promotion centres to boost public understanding about the democratic system ahead of the polls, Pol Col Jarungvith said.
He stressed parties are allowed to canvass for support through social media, though their practices must be in line with the rules stipulated by the EC, including avoiding slandering others.
In another development, while the EC will open registration Monday for agencies that want to nominate senatorial candidates.
TJA secretary-general Mongkol Bangprapa said the body has decided not to send its representatives to contest the senate poll.
