The Election Commission (EC) has promised to study the law before deciding whether to investigate a complaint against the Pheu Thai Party which has been accused of falling under ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's influence.
Thawatchai Therdpaothai, an EC member, said on Wednesday the commission will be looking at the law to see if there are grounds to the complaint filed with the EC yesterday by Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution.
Mr Thawatchai said similar complaints that came through the EC office sometimes failed to meet the criteria for investigation.
Srisuwan: Thaksin backs PAO hopeful
Mr Srisuwan submitted the petition in response to a letter written by Thaksin, now living in self-imposed exile overseas, urging voters in Chiang Mai to elect Pheu Thai candidate Pichai Lertpongadisorn in the Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) chairman election on Dec 20.
Mr Thawatchai said a detailed look at the law would help the EC decide whether the main opposition party had allowed Thaksin, who is not a Pheu Thai member, to dominate or control it in violation of the political parties law.
The commissioner, however, advised people not to encourage others to vote for a particular candidate. This is because they do not have a canvassing job.
"It's a matter of personal preference. Who you like and vote for should be kept to yourself. You shouldn't tell anyone about your choices," he said.
Mr Thawatchai added the EC will name a team to handle Mr Srisuwan's complaint and keep the petitioner up to date on the team's work.
It was premature to say if a formal probe should be launched against Pheu Thai which, if found guilty of letting Thaksin dominate its affairs, stands to be dissolved by the Constitutional Court.
Meanwhile, Mr Srisuwan said Thaksin has tweeted and posted messages on social media calling on voters in Chiang Mai to support Pheu Thai's PAO candidate. The action can be defined as influencing a party.
He said society was aware of Thaksin's regular contact with Pheu Thai.
Yesterday, Thaksin released a three-minute video clip titled "Missing Chiang Mai Very Much". In the clip, he asked voters again to cast their ballots for Pheu Thai's PAO candidate Pichai Lertpongadisorn.
Thaksin said Mr Pichai had his support because the candidate visited him in Dubai to seek his advice before deciding to enter the PAO contest.
Pheu Thai leader Sompong Amornvivat said yesterday the party was ready to be investigated.
He insisted Thaksin's letter had no bearing on the running of the party's affairs.
"It's a private matter. It's like encouraging a friend to vote for a certain candidate. It's permissible under the law and there shouldn't be anything wrong with that," he said.