The Election Commission has dismissed petitions asking that it examine whether the Pheu Thai Party's manifesto pledge of a 10,000-baht digital handout for everyone aged 16 and over violated Section 73 of the law on the election of MPs.
The petitions were filed by Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a former election candidate of the Palang Pracharath Party, and Sonthiya Sawasdee, a former adviser to the House committee on law, justice and human rights.
Section 73 prohibits election candidates or anyone acting on their behalf from promising to give voters assets, money or benefits. It also prohibits them from giving misleading information about policies. A party found guilty of violating this section can be dissolved if the offence is deemed serious enough.
Ever since it was announced, the headline policy of the Pheu Thai Party has drawn much criticism, with people questioning its feasibility.
In response, the EC asked Pheu Thai to explain where the money to implement the policy would come from and what risks had been accounted for, as required by the law.
Following a meeting on Monday, the EC resolved to reject the petitions on the grounds the party had released sufficient details during campaigning on how the policy would be costed and implemented to meet these criteria if it was in government.