Party-list MP Paiboon Nititawan on Thursday returned to the Election Commission (EC) the money allocated to his People's Reform Party (PRP), which has been closed down, from the Fund for Development of Political Parties.
Mr Paiboon handed a cashier's cheque for 882,909 baht to the EC, saying he will present the party's finances and balance sheets to the EC within 30 days so that the poll agency can pass them on to the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) for checking, which can take 180 days or more.
The EC on Monday confirmed the PRP's self-dissolution as requested by Mr Paiboon who, according to the organic law on political parties, can now find a new party to join within 60 days of the party being disbanded.
Mr Paiboon, who was also the PRP leader, brushed aside criticism that in closing down the party he ignored the wishes of those who voted for it. He said the voters had agreed to its termination. The PRP had made it clear that it supported Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Mr Paiboon said earlier he intended to move to the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).
However, Nat Laoseesawakul, director of the Political and Electoral Development Institute, said there might be a long wait before Mr Paiboon can join.
Mr Nat was referring to Section 95 of the organic law, stipulating that even though a political party is dissolved its leader is obligated to wait before joining another party in order to present its finances and balance sheets for checks by the OAG. These documents must be forwarded to the auditor-general within 30 days of a party’s dissolution.
Upon receiving the documents, the OAG has 180 days to run the checks to see if the party’s finances were in order. If the checks take longer than 180 days, the deadline can be extended for another 180 days. For the duration of the scrutiny, the party leader must wait and cannot join a new party.
Mr Nat said that because Mr Paiboon wore two hats, as he was both the leader and an MP for the PRP, the Section 95 condition applies, so he cannot join the PPRP right away.
Despite the EC’s decision to disband the PRP, legal questions linger over whether Mr Paiboon can remain a list-MP. The organic law states that an MP’s status can be retained if they are expelled or if the party is dissolved by the court. In Mr Paiboon’s case, he disbanded his own party.