By Thai Newsroom Reporters
ELECTION COMMISSION Secretary-General Sawaeng Boonmee was today (Mar.13) repeatedly suggested to forward to the commissioners a sensational case involving unlawful references to the monarchy evidently made by a Ruam Thai Sang Chart campaign speaker instead of just issuing a warning about it.
Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, head of the Thai Liberal strategic policy steering team, told the Election Commissioner secretary-general to accept and forward the case which he himself has earlier filed against the Ruam Thai Sang Chart under whose tickets Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is contesting an upcoming general election to retain power.
Sawaeng is legally given a 30-day time to compile evidence and find out facts pertaining to the events in which Trairong Suwankhiri, one of the prominent Ruam Thai Sang Chart campaign speakers, had mentioned the late King Bhumibol or King Rama IX the Great during heated campaign speeches in Bangkok last January and in Nakhon Ratchasima last month.
The former Democrat cabinet member had reportedly made references to the monarchy by saying the late king had wished to see a good person run the country and concluded that Prayut would be the one and only.
The Thai Liberal policy steersman maintained that such verbal references to the late monarch were evidently a fait accompli done twice by Trairong and called on the polling agency’s secretary-general to promptly relay the case to the election commissioners who may then forward it over to the Constitutional Court to consider dissolving the pro-Prayut party.
In his capacity as registrar of political parties, Sawaeng has issued a formal note of warning to the Ruam Thai Sang Chart executive board to see to it that Trairong or any other partisan members will no longer mention the monarchy in their campaign speeches which may be otherwise deemed as breaking the law.
But Somchai, a former election commissioner, said the polling agency’s secretary-general could have done better than that.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Trairong Suwankhiri, a prominent campaign speaker of the Ruam Thai Sang Chart. Photos: Thai Rath
Insert: Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, head of Thai Liberal strategic policy steering team. Photo: Matichon
Also read: Ruam Thai Sang Chart dissolution sought for undue reference to late monarch
Palang Pracharath will likely be dissolved if caught getting grey money: Somchai
Members of ‘independent’ agencies could be deposed by people: Thai Liberal
Legal action could be taken against polling agency over pro-Prayut event
Polling agency urged to probe Prayut-promoting event
