Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha should take the high road if he wants to return as the premier, according to Pheu Thai Party secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai.
Mr Phumtham said the issue has nothing to do with legal requirements. If Gen Prayut wants respect and recognition from the public and the international community, then he must earn it, he added.
"No one needs to tell him. A top leader should be aware of this without being urged to. He should show the right spirit like others," he said.
The Pheu Thai heavyweight was responding to a question on whether it would be appropriate for Gen Prayut to remain in power, after the pro-regime Palang Pracharath Party's (PPRP) said it was looking to nominate him as the party's prime minister candidate.
PPRP deputy leader Suvit Maesincee was quoted as saying that Gen Prayut is at the top of the party's candidate list. His remark came shortly after PPRP secretary-general Sontirat Sontijirawong said last weekend that the regime leader was among the party's top choices.
Somsak Thepsuthin, a key member of the PPRP who is in charge of election campaigning, accused certain political parties on Monday of dividing public opinion by attacking Gen Prayut for trying to prolong his stay in power.
He said the issue has been picked up by political rivals ahead of the general election, when they should be focusing on policies. He admitted the issue was one the concerns of the party's election campaign committee.
"The issue should be dropped to avoid conflicts. We've lost opportunities and time to work to better the lives of the people," he said.
However, Mr Somsak said one of the messages the party will have to get across to voters in the election campaign, is that the PPRP is not trying to prolong the regime's hold on power.
He insisted the new and controversial election map recently announced by the Election Commission (EC) and other electoral rules do not favour the PPRP.
Suriya Juangroongruangkit, a PPRP member responsible for election strategy in the Northeast, said he expects the party to win no fewer than 50 seats in the polls.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak called on politicians to put political conflicts behind them.
"The next government is certainly going to be a coalition. The government and the opposition should join hands for the sake of the country's development. This political conflict should end," he said at the Thailand Economic Outlook 2019 forum in Bangkok.
Also Monday, a source in the Pheu Thai Party said Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, the party's head of strategic committee, said the mass defection of Pheu Thai members to the Thai Raksa Chart Party gives Pheu Thai the opportunity to reflect and carry out a series of reforms.
