Poll body may have broken its own rules by allowing Pheu Thai to make promise it can’t keep, says activist
Political activist Sonthiya Sawasdee has asked the Election Commission (EC) to investigate whether it erred in giving the Pheu Thai Party the go-ahead to campaign for its 10,000-baht digital wallet handout.
The commission might have broken its own rules against allowing parties to make promises they can’t keep, or to promise things that risk the country’s financial health, said Mr Sonthiya, a former adviser to the House committee on law, justice and human rights.
The EC might have breached Section 258(3) of the Organic Act on Political Parties by having approved the digital wallet policy even though it was impossible to execute, he said.
The original proposal by Pheu Thai called for every Thai aged 16 or over to receive a 10,000-baht handout to be spent locally to stimulate the economy. The cost was estimated at 560 billion baht, but the plan is now being scaled back.
Mr Sonthiya asked if the EC had studied the promise made during the campaign for the May 14 election and consulted with knowledgeable parties about whether it was practical before giving Pheu Thai the all-clear.
“During the general election period, the EC was the most powerful organisation,” he said on Friday. “Even the caretaker government had to gain approvals from the EC. Now I would like to request the EC to inspect its own past decisions.”
He also said that he would ask the National Anti‑Corruption Commission (NACC) to rule whether the poll body had breached the law and how the EC should take responsibility for approving policies that can’t be carried out.
Following scrutiny by the NACC, the issue could then be brought to the Constitutional Court, he said.
The NACC on Oct 20 said it was setting up a committee of experts to study the handout plan in detail and advise on whether it contains loopholes that could be exploited and lead to policy corruption.
Mr Sonthiya, a former member of the Palang Pracharath Party, complained that he had been filing reports to the EC about the digital wallet scheme for five months but the commission had not commented on the policy.
“The EC is unintentionally destroying democracy,” he said. “If any political party submits impractical policies and gains approval from the EC, it is a lie.
“People will no longer believe in democracy. And the EC should be the authority that questions lies from political parties.”
In a related development, Senator Somchai Sawangkarn said he would campaign for the digital wallet to be rejected by MPs and the public, hoping to pressure the government to reconsider its plan.
“I recommend the government spend its 560-billion-baht budget for the digital wallet policy on people in vulnerable groups instead,” he said.
A loan worth 560 billion baht, he said, would incur interest payments of 140 billion baht. Both MPs and the public should say no to “helicopter money” and encourage the government to solve wealth distribution issues in other ways, he added.
The digital wallet programme was originally scheduled to start on Feb 1 but Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat has conceded it would be delayed until April or possibly beyond. In addition to funding challenges, authorities still haven’t decided who will receive the funds and how the digital distribution system can be made secure.