A new regulation issued by the Election Commission (EC) to enable it to speed up the dissolution of a political party could be detrimental to several parties, including the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin said on Tuesday.
Mr Somsak, who also serves as the PPRP's chief strategist, said that the new regulation would enable the EC to speed up probes into alleged violations of the Political Party Act.
Under the new rule, the EC can take only three to seven months to wrap up inquiries instead of three to seven years as in the past, Mr Somsak said.
Asked if the regulation will affect the PPRP, he said: "I would be concerned if any accident befell the party."
On Oct 28, activist Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, petitioned the EC to probe the PPRP after Mr Somsak admitted the ruling party had accepted a 3-million-baht donation from Chinese-born businessman and suspected crime boss Chaiyanat "Tuhao" Kornchayanant in 2021.
Mr Srisuwan alleged that the donation violated Section 72 of the Political Parties Act, which bans parties or political office holders from accepting donations or other benefits acquired from suspected illegitimate sources.
The PPRP also violated Section 74 of the same law, which bans parties from accepting donations or other benefits from non-Thai nationals, he alleged.
Prasarn Wangrattanapranee, a member of the party's legal affairs panel, said that Mr Chaiyanant donated the money after being granted Thai citizenship, but the source of the money had been unknown at the time. "The PPRP did not do anything that was against the law," he said.
Last Thursday, the EC issued a regulation on the gathering of evidence by the EC's secretary-general, who serves as the registrar of political parties.
The regulation is in line with the law on setting time frames for legal proceedings, which took effect on Jan 23 this year.
The law covers all agencies involved in the justice process, including the Justice Ministry, the Royal Thai Police, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission, the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the EC, the courts of justice, as well as the prosecutors.
A clear deadline has been given so that the public and concerned parties can know when these agencies will complete their jobs while progress can also be more clearly measured, according to the EC.