The Election Commission (EC) is studying the details of the law governing parties' income before deciding whether to take up the controversial loan case involving Future Forward Party (FFP) leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
EC chairman, Ittiporn Boonpracong, said on Wednesday the commission will base its decision whether to admit the loan case primarily on Section 62 of the organic law on political parties.
The section provides details about what income parties can legally generate for their spending. After a quick look at the section, Mr Ittiporn said he did not come across any mention of a loan as a source of a party's income. However, the EC needs more time to examine the section. "It is still too soon to conclude this point," the EC chief said.
He said the EC's Office will launch an initial probe to determine whether the petition -- filed by activist Srisuwan Janya on Tuesday against Mr Thanathorn in the loan controversy -- merits further investigation.
A rising star in politics, Mr Thanathorn walked into a quagmire yet again. Previously, he came under scrutiny for holding shares in V-Luck Media Co when he registered as an MP candidate in February.
Last week, Mr Thanathorn revealed at a discussion at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand that he is a creditor of the party -- having loaned 110 million baht to finance campaign rallies and activities. Election laws allow parties to conduct fundraisers and/or receive donations to finance their activities, but places certain restrictions for the contributions.
If the 110-million-baht is considered a donation, Mr Thanathorn violated Section 66 of the organic law on parties, which caps personal donations at 10 million baht a year.
Mr Ittiporn also said the EC is not rushing the media shareholding case against Mr Thanathorn, which may constitute a breach of Section 98(3) of the constitution, which bars owners and/or shareholders of media and/or publishing firms from running as MPs.
If the case goes to court and Mr Thanathorn is found guilty, his MP status could be revoked.
Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, the FFP secretary-general, said the party has been transparent with its accounting practices.
During electoral canvassing, the EC forbade parties from launching fund-raising activities, citing the regime's ban. That left the FFP with no option but to obtain a loan to pay for election-related expenses, he said.
Since loans are not specified as a source of income prohibited by the political parties law, getting one should not be illegal, Mr Piyabutr said, adding parties are regarded as juristic persons under the civil law.
Mr Piyabutr added that to his knowledge, several other parties also took out loans to finance their election campaigns with the EC allegedly signing documents authorising this.
"We did nothing to break the law," he said.