Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday denied ordering the Election Commission (EC) to remove the names and logos of political parties from ballot papers.
The premier came under fire for allegedly floating the idea during a pre-election talk last Friday between the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the EC and representatives from political parties.
Defending himself, Gen Prayut said he had nothing to do with the format of the ballot, which would be decided by the EC.
"I didn't make any order. The issue came up during the talk. Somebody asked the question about it and I answered. But it's the EC that will make a decision. It's not my business," he said.
Gen Prayut said he would not exercise his Section 44 powers to resolve the issue which is being worked out by the EC.
"Why can't they design? I've read in the news that the EC is considering two formats. The polls are organised and supervised by the EC and the ballot too," he said.
Gen Prayut said no political party has approached him to be their prime ministerial candidate when asked about his future political career.
He said the nomination of the prime ministerial candidates has yet to be made, while noting he has no idea if any of them would approach him for the job.
EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong yesterday said several factors have to be considered when choosing the format of the ballot because the next general election will be different from the previous ones.
In the previous system in which two ballots were used, the names and logos of political parties appeared on the ballot under the party-list system. Under the new system, a single ballot paper is used for both the constituency and party-list systems, he said. The EC is expected to finalise the matter next week to make sure ballots are produced in time for overseas voting which is likely to take place in early February.
Asked about harsh criticisms against the EC, Mr Boonpracong said the poll agency listens to criticism and recommendations and sees it as part of public participation. He insisted the EC's work is not being interfered with by the regime following the controversies surrounding the format of the ballot paper and the drawing of election constituencies.
The EC chairman said the poll agency will have to work harder to make sure the public understands the new election system and the use of just one ballot. His comment was in response to the results of an opinion survey indicating many are unaware that a single ballot will be used for both the constituency and the party-list system in the upcoming polls.
Activist Srisuwan Janya yesterday lodged a petition with the Office of the Ombudsman to seek the Administrative Court's ruling on alleged interference by the regime over the format of the ballot.
He said the EC's office was likely to opt for the ballot without the names and logos of political parties as suggested by Gen Prayut, and that the issue was deemed to be an intervention in the EC's affairs.
The petition was accepted by Wathanyu Thippayamontha, deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Ombudsman, who said the ombudsman would decide if the matter falls under its jurisdiction.
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