The coalition Democrat Party's board on Wednesday approved the party's list of 400 election candidates in the constituency system and another 100 candidates in the party-list system for the coming general election.
The board took the same occasion to approve a proposal to nominate party leader Jurin Laksanawisit as its sole prime ministerial candidate, deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon said on Wednesday.
The 400 election candidates will on April 3 formally apply at a provincial election commission office in their respective provinces to contest the election, while the list of 100 party-list candidates will be submitted to the Election Commission (EC) by Mr Jurin on April 4, Mr Ongart said.
The numerical order of the party-list candidates will be decided later by Mr Jurin and party secretary-general Chalermchai Sri-on, while the exact order of these candidates will only be revealed after Mr Jurin has submitted the list to the EC, Mr Ongart added.
Both Mr Jurin and Mr Chalermchai have assured they will judge the order of the candidates fairly, in the best interests of the party and in accordance with the party's tradition and criteria for selecting its party-list candidates, Mr Ongart noted.
Mr Chalermchai has decided to opt out of the race for both the party-list and constituency tickets, said Mr Ongart.
Previously, Mr Jurin said the party's criteria for selecting its party-list candidates for a general election include seniority, qualifications and past achievements for the party.
The party also has a gender quota, meaning there must be one female party-list candidate for every five candidates, said a source.
Mr Jurin, together with Chuan Leekpai, Banyat Bantadtan, Niphon Bunyamanee and Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich, are expected to make the top five.
Mr Chuan, a former party leader, said he has already planned his trip to all provinces during the coming pre-election campaign period, starting from April 4, when the registration of party-list candidates will be conducted. He will be travelling with three to four other people for the planned countrywide electioneering, he said.
