The Election Commission (EC) assured on Monday that the dissolution case against the main opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) would not drag on. However, the time frame for the case has not been set.
EC chairman Itthiporn Boonpracong said the political party registrar, currently examining the Constitutional Court’s Jan 31 ruling and the Political Party Act, would also study the full court ruling to prepare a report for the EC's decision.
The court's full ruling was published in the Royal Gazette on Feb 29, almost a month after it ruled that the MFP’s push to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lese majeste law, indicated an intention to undermine the constitutional monarchy.
Mr Itthiporn said the EC did not set the time frame for the case but noted that the deliberation process would be completed in a timely manner.
Regarding another dissolution case involving the Bhumjaithai Party, the EC chairman said the political party registrar was reviewing the petition to determine if there were grounds to set up a panel to investigate the case.
He said the process could take longer than 30 days if the agency had to interview witnesses to gather further information.
The case against Bhumjaithai, the second-largest coalition partner, involves donations made to the party.
Former secretary-general Saksayam Chidchob was recently found guilty of concealing assets and using a nominee to hide ownership of a company that won government construction projects.
Mr Saksayam’s nominee allegedly donated the money to the Bhumjaithai Party several times, raising questions about the practice which could lead to the party being disbanded.
Meanwhile, former senator Paisal Puechmongkol wrote on Facebook that an attempt to have the MFP dissolved was likely to backfire, pointing to the dissolution of the Future Forward Party (FFP).
The now-dissolved FFP was reincarnated as the MFP, which took the general election last year by storm.
Mr Paisal said the MFP's dissolution could lead to landslide votes from the public for its successor in the next election and enable the party to form a single-party government.
Sen Somchai Sawaengkarn on Monday said that the EC is obliged to forward the case to the court under Section 92 of the political party law.
The EC is also empowered to propose the dissolution of a party to the Constitutional Court if it has obtained enough evidence the party has committed an act deemed hostile to the democratic regime with the King as head of state.