The Election Commission will consider political parties' complaints about obstacles to reviewing their membership databases at its meeting on Monday after confirming on Saturday the review can be carried out online, said Charungwit Phumma, the EC acting secretary-general.
The database review is a prerequisite to verifying membership, a process which existing parties must complete this month to maintain their status as political bodies.
Pol Col Charungwit said parties are permitted to open electronic channels after the Democrat Party complained it was too tedious, time-consuming and costly to get its members to reconfirm their memberships via slow mail.
The party has launched an application to allow members to reconfirm. However, the EC had been tight-lipped about whether it would approve its use.
Pol Col Charungwit said the complaints voiced by parties regarding impediments to the membership review will be taken into consideration at the meeting tomorrow, after parties aired their complaints at a forum organised by the EC on Wednesday.
The complaints include parties being allowed only 30 days, which they thought was too little time, to conduct the review. Pol Col Jarungwit said the EC would ask the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to see if the junta can do anything to help.
The NCPO has also not lifted its ban on political activities, which prohibits parties from holding meetings where issues involved in the membership database check can be discussed.
Pol Col Charungwit added that 97 political parties had applied to be registered as of yesterday, supposedly the last day of applications. However, the acting EC secretary-general said applications can continue to be filed.
Of the 97 applications received so far, four have been approved by the EC, according to Pol Col Charungwit.
Meanwhile, the Democrats have advised the ombudsman to compel the NCPO to rectify the Section 44 order amending the organic law on political parties.
The amendment, issued by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Dec 22 last year, requires party members to confirm their membership and pay fees within 30 days of April 1.
Both the Democrats and the Pheu Thai Party have formally asked the ombudsman to petition the Constitutional Court to rule on whether the junta's order was constitutionally valid.
However, Democrat deputy leader Ong-art Klampaiboon yesterday said the ombudsman should make a direct request to the NCPO to change the order to save time.
Democrat secretary-general Juti Krairiksh said members can access the party's app, called D-Connect, or visit the party's branches or headquarters to reconfirm their membership.
