Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) list-MP candidate, yesterday accused Pita Limjaroenrat, leader and prime ministerial candidate of the Move Forward Party (MFP), of holding shares in media company iTV Plc as of April 27 last year.
If the Election Commission concurs, Mr Pita should be disqualified from running from parliament as Section 98(3) of the constitution prohibits holders of a media company from contesting a general election, said Mr Ruangkrai.
He said he would today petition the commission for it to launch a formal investigation into Mr Pita’s alleged ineligibility to defend the House seat he won in the 2019 election.
Mr Pita was sworn in on May 25, 2019, but the 42,000 iTV shares held at the time of his registration were omitted from the list of 45 assets he declared to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), according to Mr Ruangkrai.
A check with the Department of Business Development showed Mr Pita held the shares in iTV, each valued at 5 baht, as of April 27 last year, said Mr Ruangkrai.
Citing information published on the website of iTV, Mr Ruangkrai said the company provides advertising and public relations services and earned 21 million baht in income last year.
Mr Pita yesterday denied Mr Ruangkrai’s claim and said the iTV shares did not belong to him.
He tweeted: “I am not worried about the case because the shares are not mine. It’s a family heritage, and I’m the manager of that. I informed the National Anti-Corruption Commission about this a long time ago.”
He said his party’s legal team would be ready to provide any information if asked by the Election Commission.