Pheu Thai calls for election fraud probe
The Fourth Army is prohibiting political parties from campaigning at restricted areas inside conscription venues, said its commander, Lt Gen Santi Sakultanak.
The move follows reports about MP candidates from the Move Forward Party (MFP) holding rallies and criticising the draft at the venues where the annual conscription is underway.
Scrapping military conscription is one of the MFP’s key policies, and the party promises to end it in a year if elected to power.
Lt Gen Santi said all observers, including election candidates, are not allowed in the area where the conscription draw is held as the area is reserved for people summoned to report for military service only.
Families and friends of people attending the conscription are also required to remain outside this area, he said.
The clarification follows the circulation of a memo allegedly sent out by the Fourth Army commander on social media.
In the memo, the conscription committees are told to stay alert for political activities during the annual conscription and ask candidates to refrain from displaying anti-conscription posters.
Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry has postponed the deadline for new conscripts to report for duty from May 1 to May 15 to facilitate their voting in the May 14 election.
MFP to join Pheu Thai?
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, an election campaign staffer of the MFP, appears open to the idea of the party and Pheu Thai forming a coalition government.
Mr Thanathorn, also chairman of the Progressive Movement, said Pheu Thai’s and the MFP’s policies are promising and beneficial to the public.
He expects both parties to hold talks after the polls to discuss a way forward. He said the MFP does not propose abolishing Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law, only amending the law, adding the issue is unlikely to be the party’s condition for joining the coalition.
Asked about Piyabutr Saengkanokkul’s remark that Pheu Thai’s “anti-coup” policy will never materialise, Mr Thanathorn said the MFP would not have been set up had political parties fought against military intervention.
However, he dismissed Mr Piyabutr’s remark as a personal opinion, saying if the MFP and Pheu Thai formed a coalition government, he believed Thailand could achieve democracy.
Pro-farmer policies
The Bhumjaithai Party put a debt moratorium and crop price guarantees at the heart of its campaign in Phichit yesterday.
Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul joined the rally to woo votes for party candidates Pattarapong Pattaraprasit, Winai Pattaraprasit and Siriwat Kachornprasart who are contesting in the province where three seats are up for grabs.
He said the three-year debt moratorium with debts capped at 1 million baht would extend a lifeline to farmers while a crop price guarantee programme would ensure income security.
Farmers should know in advance how much they would get for their produce before they grow the crops, and the crops must be insured against damage in the event of natural disasters, he said.
Mr Anutin said the party was not involved in political conflicts and had the national interest at heart, so voters’ support for the party indicated they wanted unity.
Claims of cash for ID cards
The Pheu Thai Party will ask election officials in Amnat Charoen and Ubon Ratchathani to investigate claims of alleged election fraud after some voters said they were offered money in exchange for ID cards.
Prasert Chantararuangthong, the party’s secretary-general, said complaints about “cash for ID cards” are coming in from these two northeastern provinces ahead of advance voting.
He said the ID cards are likely to be used to register for early voting through the “Smart Vote” mobile application and a website, adding local officials who work closely with communities are allegedly involved in the practice.
Pheu Thai is gathering more information and will file complaints with the provincial election committees when appropriate, he said.