Barkar Nash (Page 1,048)

Senator says 50 independents representing professions being lobbied, and 112 is an issue

The Move Forward Party (MFP) has expressed confidence in its effort to persuade more senators to support its leadership of a coalition government and name its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, as the new prime minister.

Senator Songdet Samerkham responded on Saturday to claims that politicians were working to win over the 50 independent senators representing various professions so that they would support Mr Pita’s bid for prime minister. He confirmed he had been contacted by politicians to discuss the matter.

Mr Songdet said he was ready to support the party with a majority in the House of Representatives but was not aware of his peers’ opinions.

“All senators agree that Section 112 (the lese-majeste law) should be off-limits to either cancellation or revision, and we believe the existing law is appropriate,” he said.

“If Move Forward clearly states that it will not meddle with Section 112, I am confident many senators will back the party. We will have to see what’s inside their memorandum of understanding on May 22 in this regard.”

The Move Forward-led coalition — now back down to eight parties after some drama on Friday and Saturday — is scheduled to gather on Monday to reveal the details of the agreement the parties have been negotiating. 

Move Forward wants to reduce the penalties in Section 112 and stipulate that only the Bureau of the Royal Household can file complaints. Deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun indicated on Friday that if all participants don’t agree with her party on Section 112, it won’t be in the MoU. In that case, she said, Move Forward would submit a bill on its own to amend the law.

There have been reports that about 20 senators so far are considering backing the MFP leader. Mr Songdet said he believed there could be more but noted that gathering support for a premiership bid requires diplomacy and a friendly approach.

MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said on Saturday that having 313 representatives in the lower House would ensure the party’s ability to establish an administration. However, it will continue to speak with senators and seek mutual understanding in the interest of national progress.

He said that most senators he had spoken with had expressed concerns about the incoming government’s foreign policy and maintaining Thailand’s standing on the world stage, along with continued political conflict.

“The Senate is set to hold a gathering on May 23, and I have heard that they will engage in an informal meeting afterward to discuss their vote on the prime minister,” said Mr Chaithawat.

“I believe that once they see our memorandum on May 22, they will understand our intention, and it will lead to a positive decision that drives the nation forward.”

Curbs on photography at polling stations topped the list of concerns, says watchdog group

Restrictions on photographing the ballot counting at polling stations on Election Day were the primary concern among the complaints filed with the Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw).

iLaw, along with other watchdog groups such as Vote62, Rocket Media Lab and Opendream, held a press conference on Saturday to present their observations about the May 14 general election.

Anon Chawalawan, representing iLaw, said the observations focused on ensuring transparency in the voting process. The findings were categorised into issues encountered on Election Day itself and during the counting of advanced ballots.

A total of 375 online complaints were registered with iLaw. The most common complaint was citizens being prohibited from taking photographs at polling stations, accounting for 81 out of the total complaints.

The election law allows people to take photographs of the ballot-counting process for future reference and verification, as long as doing so does not impede the work of election officers.

In addition, 41 complaints were related to polling station staff, ranging from officials neglecting to verify voters’ identities to a lack of preparedness in providing guidance.

Several complaints noted errors or missing details of candidates at polling stations, as well as the appearance of candidates who had passed away over 20 years ago.

While iLaw deployed a task force of 150 individuals to handle complaints regarding advanced voting, they had to collaborate with We Watch to investigate reports from members of the Move Forward Party, who claimed that some advanced votes arrived after the counting had concluded. However, We Watch subsequently confirmed that the votes were indeed counted.

Isolated incidents observed during the process included polling stations being provided with pens of the wrong colour or errors on the ballot forms.

Mr Anon added that these complaints are still under investigation, but no ballots have been invalidated for these reasons so far.

iLaw said it spent six months preparing to observe the elections and encouraging volunteer observers to sign on. On Election Day, more than 39,000 volunteers from all over the country participated. 

It also made a series of recommendations to the Election Commission for following up the current vote and for future elections.

It noted that while the law gives the EC 60 days from May 14 to certify the vote, it should be done much more quickly. In constituencies where there is no suspicion of corruption, official results could be announced as soon as May 22, it said.

Suspect sold communication gear on Facebook page with 5,000 followers, say police

More than 260 illegal communication devices, being stocked for online sale, have been seized during a police raid in Bangkok.

Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) police said a joint unit of the CCIB, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and the Revenue Department carried out the raid on a building on Jarumuang Road in Pathum Wan district on Saturday.

The operation followed an investigation into reports that the building served as a base for the online sales of radio communication devices. During the raid, the team apprehended a man, named only as Phat, who was found in possession of 269 devices valued at 403,500 baht.

According to investigators, the communication radios were smuggled into Thailand and distributed illegally.

Investigators were able to track the supply chain through a Facebook page operated by Phat, which had amassed more than 5,000 followers.

The suspect has confessed to engaging in unlicensed distribution and has been charged with the illegal sale of radio devices. He has been detained at the Pathum Wan station.

CCIB police have reminded the public that the purchase and use of communication devices in violation of state regulations is a criminal offence.

Photo: CCIB

Veteran politician says he has no hard feelings after collapse of talks to join Move Forward coalition

Veteran politician Suwat Liptapanlop says he has no hard feelings after talks for his Chartpattanakla Party to join the Move Forward coalition fell through.

The chairman of the two-member party spoke with reporters at its head office in Nakhon Ratchasima on Saturday to give his side of the story about the aborted deal with the Move Forward Party (MFP).

“The Move Forward Party invited Chartpattanakla to join its alliance to form a coalition government,” he said. “Our party agreed in principle to support the party that had gained the most House seats to successfully form the government.

MFP subsequently invited executives of Chartpattanakla to attend a meeting on Monday at which details of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) among the coalition partners were to be announced.

But not long after word got out, social media lit up with criticism of Move Forward. Specifically, netizens were angry that such a deal would bring Korn Chatikvanij into the coalition. Mr Korn, the Chartpattanakla leader and a former Democrat Party heavyweight, supported the Bangkok Shutdown protests that ultimately led to the May 2014 coup.

Move Forward executives withdrew the invitation and apologised to their supporters and the public, and also to Chartpattanakla. Still smarting on Saturday, they announced that they would not be holding any press events for the day and would communicate only via social media.

Mr Suwat brushed off the furore.

“As the MFP had announced it was ending the talks and formally notified us of its decision, Chartpattanakla has no problem,” he said.

Also attending Saturday’s press conference were Prasart Tanprasert, a potential Nakhon Sawan MP; Dr Wannarat Charnnukul, a potential party-list MP; and party secretary-general Tewan Liptapanlop.

Mr Suwat thanked Move Forward for extending the initial invitation. He said he and his party were not upset over the outcome and were still on good terms with the MFP.

Move Forward plans ‘too controversial’

Key Democrat figures on Friday rejected media reports that the party was seeking to join the coalition led by the Move Forward Party (MFP).

According to the reports circulating on Thursday night following the formation of the ten-party alliance, a group of winning Democrat candidates close to acting party secretary-general Chalermchai Sri-on said Mr Chalermchai tried to approach the MFP and Pheu Thai to be part of the coalition.

Two figures — Det-it Khaothong and Chaichana Dejdecho, who won House seats in Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat, respectively — were said to be spearheading the move. The group was said to have 16 out of 25 seats the party captured in Sunday’s polls.

Mr Chaichana said the reports were entirely false and speculated that they were released to gauge Democrat opinions after some parties had declared their stance.

He said the party stood by its declaration that it would not support the abolition of the lese majeste law, would not tolerate corruption and would not allow the uncontrolled use of cannabis.

However, he said a decision on the party’s future would be decided after a new party executive is elected and the election winners are endorsed by the Election Commission.

Jurin Laksanawisit, who vowed to resign if the party won less than 25 seats, announced he was quitting before the party hit that target late on Sunday evening. The party grabbed just 22 seats from the constituencies and three more from the list system, according to the unofficial result.

Alongkorn Ponlaboot, acting Democrat deputy leader, on Friday urged media outlets to verify the reports, especially those with unnamed sources, because they could be used to discredit the party.

“The party is ready to be in the opposition and scrutinise the work of the MFP-led government. We want to reaffirm our stance that we disagree with amending Sections 1-2 of the constitution and the lese majeste law,” he said.

Sombat Yasin, a Democrat candidate who won in Mae Song Hon, said on Friday it was unlikely the party would join the MFP-led coalition because the MFP had highly controversial policies.

He did not rule out the possibility of the party working with Pheu Thai in case the MFP failed to set up a government and Pheu Thai stepped in to form its own alliance.

However, Mr Sombat said Pheu Thai must leave the lese majeste law alone for the Democrats to consider joining its coalition.

“I’ve talked to Mr Chalermchai, and he shares the same opinions. We don’t agree with the MFP. But if the lead party in the coalition changes to reduce political divisiveness without touching the lese majeste law, we think it’s acceptable,” he said.

New Party also drops out of coalition after comments about lese-majeste law cause stir

The Move Forward Party has backtracked on its plan to include the Chartpattanakla Party in its coalition government, following furious opposition from party supporters.

The decision to drop the two-member Chartpattanakla was followed quickly by the exit of the one-member New Party just hours after it had applied to join. As a result, the coalition is now back to eight parties with 313 members.

That should still be sufficient to form a stable majority government in the 500-seat House in accordance with international democratic principles, party secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said on Saturday.

The drama over the planned inclusion of Chartpattanakla played out on social media on Friday night, and it took just hours for Move Forward leader and prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat to back down.

“I would like to apologise,” he wrote on Twitter. “I will keep reminding myself that the party is bigger than any individual. The people are bigger than any party.”

The party also posted a message on its Facebook page on Friday night, acknowledging that it had heard the voices of the people.

Members of the public, party staff, provincial-level executives and members all made their feelings known online that they could not accept the inclusion of Chartpattanakla. A meeting of prospective Move Forward MPs expressed the same view.

Their opposition stemmed from the involvement of its leader Korn Chatikavanij in the seven-month-long Bangkok Shutdown protests that led to the military coup that toppled the Yingluck Shinawatra government in May 2014. Mr Korn, a former deputy leader of the Democrat Party, also voted in favour of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the coup leader at the time, as prime minister.

Move Forward issued a statement on its official @MFPThailand account, saying it accepted the criticism and apologised for disappointing the public. It emphasised that the formation of the government would be based on its political stance and the policies on which it had earlier campaigned.

The party also apologised to Chartpattanakla for discontinuing the talks. Veteran politician Suwat Liptapanlop, the Chartpattanakla chairman, said he accepted the apology and had no hard feelings about the incident. (Story continues below).

Former Democrat Party member Korn Chatikavanij, front right, joins a demonstration in Bangkok against the Pheu Thai government led by Yingluck Shinawatra on Nov 29, 2013. (File photo: Apichit Jinakul)

The exit of Chartpattanakla was followed by that of the New Party, after the appearance on social media of a video featuring a party executive suggesting punishments under the lese-majeste law were not strong enough.

That runs counter to the views and policies of Move Forward, which is pushing to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code on royal defamation. The hashtag #Don’twanttheNewParty suddenly started trending on Twitter.

Kritdithat Saengthayothin, the leader of the New Party, said he decided to withdraw from the alliance as the video had made him uncomfortable. He stressed that the opinion expressed was the personal view of the executive and the party had not agreed with him. In any case, he decided it would be better for the coalition if his party bowed out.

The New Party had earlier posted on its Facebook page that its executives had resolved to join the alliance to form a new government unconditionally. Mr Kritdithat said he had held talks with a deputy MFP leader, apparently referring to Phicharn Chaowapatanawong.

Mr Phicharn was also the person who first announced the agreement of Chartpattanakla to join the coalition.

Barring any other changes, the now eight-party coalition is scheduled to gather on Monday to sign a memorandum of understanding on the formation of the new government.

The 313-member alliance will still need the support of 63 senators to secure the 376 votes necessary to endorse Mr Pita when the House and the 250-member Senate meet.

Mr Chaithawat on Saturday expressed optimism that support could be found in the Upper House, whose members were all appointed by Gen Prayut.

He said his party would continue holding talks with senators to create a better understanding in a bid to bring the country onto the democratic path, and not into a deadlock. Some senators, he said, were concerned about the party’s foreign policy and did not want the next government to create more political conflicts.

After talks and explaining the party’s stance and guidelines, the senators understood, he said.

“On May 23, the Senate will call an extraordinary meeting. After this, there may be an informal meeting of senators to discuss the voting of a prime minister,” said Mr Chaithawat.

“I do believe that when senators see the MoU to form the next government on May 22, they will have a better understanding of us and this will lead to a positive decision to push the country ahead.”

• Note: This story was updated at 16.47 to reflect the exit of the New Party and other details