City Hall admitted yesterday to having made a mistake in permitting the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party to display a laser-lit election message on a tower of Rama VIII Bridge.
The party was allowed access to Rama VIII Park for election campaigning on Monday. City Hall said it did not think the party would beam the laser message featuring the party’s logo from the park onto the tower of the nearby bridge.
The display, captured by a netizen and posted online, sparked criticism and prompted questions as to why the UTN was allowed to use the bridge for such a purpose.
Tipanan Sirichana, one of the UTN’s party-list candidates, sent a letter to the city clerk on Sunday seeking permission to campaign for votes in the Rama 8 Park area from May 8-12, according to Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt.
A document was attached to the letter giving details on the laser-lighting display on a tower of Rama VIII Bridge, he said.
Mr Chadchart admitted the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) made a mistake by not going through the document in detail and allowing the laser display to take place.
The bridge is off-limits for electioneering activities. If the BMA had been aware that the laser message would be displayed on the bridge, it would not have allowed it in the first place, the governor said.
The BMA ordered the UTN’s campaign activities in the park to be suspended as soon as the laser display fiasco was made known, Mr Chadchart said.
As it was clearly the BMA’s mistake, the UTN won’t be punished, he said. Whether the party violated the election law is an issue the Election Commission (EC) may have to take up, he added.
The BMA will write to the EC to explain what happened, he said.
EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said the EC had asked the BMA to investigate the incident.
The underlying question was whether the UTN received permission from the BMA to carry out the laser display.
EC deputy secretary-general Chanin Noilek said the display does not appear to have defied any election regulations. It does not count as an election campaign poster, which would be restricted in terms of size and number.
The UTN issued a statement on Tuesday saying the laser display was undertaken by Ms Tipanan, who went ahead without consulting the party. The party apologised and promised to be extra careful in future.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his capacity as a prime ministerial candidate of the UTN, said he understands that Ms Tipanan harboured no ill intent in organising the light show.