PM sets party talks for Dec 7

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has set aside Dec 7 for talks with politicians on the long-awaited decision to fully lift a political activities ban, in place since the military regime took power four years ago.

The meeting date is confirmed and so is Election Day on Feb 24 next year, Gen Prayut said yesterday.

The revelations followed calls from several small parties for the election date to be put back to May, saying they need more time to prepare.

“Unlocking [the political ban] must be done through clear regulations,” he said yesterday.

The premier refused to give a hint at when the ban would be lifted.

The meeting will be held at the Army Club on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road. It is unclear which parties will attend.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) partially lifted the ban in September, allowing parties to conduct some administrative activities, including holding meetings to select party executives and recruit members, and giving their opinions on the demarcation of constituencies.

Meanwhile, a former Democrat MP for Kanchanaburi has cried foul over a “Type3” demarcation method for constituencies now being considered by the Kanchanaburi provincial election chief.

Expressing his opinion on his Facebook page, Chatphan Detkitsunthon, former MP in Constituency 2, alleged the demarcation method breached the charter and Election Commission (EC) regulations.

He said the redrawing of constituency boundaries must be done in a fair manner, based on the principle that adjacent constituencies are grouped together and the number of eligible voters are similar.

But the Type-3 demarcation the EC is looking at will lead to “huge” differences in the number of voters in each constituency, Mr Chatphan wrote, saying he has lodged a complaint with the EC.

The number of voters in Constituency 1 is greater than that in Constituency 2 by 55,977, he wrote in his post.

Mr Chatphan’s claim highlights a worry over alleged gerrymandering after the NCPO last Friday issued a powerful Section 44 order allowing the EC to redraw constituencies.