The minister said the party has not given any lecture to its MPs for them to have insights of tasks inside Parliament and outside.

Wissanu Krea-ngam will be invited to give lectures on the topic of the Constitution every Wednesday for a month while Parliament is closed due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The other plan, such as the Cabinet reshuffle, will have to wait until the coronavirus outbreak is solved, Sontirat explained.

Chaitawat Tulaton was chosen the new party’s secretary.

Pita said the Move Forward Party will be the second chapter of the disbanded Future Forward Party and is committed to the ideology and policies of the disbanded party.

In the latest, students gathered around the Kamphaeng Phet MRT station in Bangkok on Friday before marching to Parliament to demand amendments to the Constitution, which they believe was rewritten to sustain military control of the government.

“I have no problem with their rallying,” Wissanu said. “The government has never prevented student political movements.

“However, I have to ask what they expect to accomplish today, since Parliament is closed and they might not be allowed into the building.”

Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said the movement had to obey the law. Besides, he said, it is the job of Parliament to resolve political issues.

The former leader of the dissolved Future Forward Party was reacting through a Facebook post to the Election Commission (EC) seeking to press further criminal charges against him over his shareholding of V-Luck media and loan to Future Forward.

In his message, Thanathorn argued that the EC was accusing him of applying for a position of representative — member of Parliament — while it acknowledged that he was unable to apply due to his disqualification. This showed that the political system generated by a coup was trying to eliminate him from Thai politics.

However, this system has lost its legitimacy since it used powers to eliminate its enemies and oppress people in the country to seek benefits for its followers, he said.

The obvious evidence was the failed management of the Covid-19 crisis by the government that was still looking for profit while the people had to suffer from the consequences.

This kind of political system should never exist, Thanathorn said.

The decision was made at a meeting of the EC board, a source revealed on Tuesday (March 10).

The EC had stated earlier that Thanathorn’s shareholding in V-Luck media violated Section 151 of the election law, which stipulates that a person who was knowingly not qualified shall be fined Bt20,000 to Bt200,000 or face one to 10 years of imprisonment if he applied to become a member of Parliament. If found guilty, Thanathorn will also have his right to vote revoked for 20 years.

The Constitutional Court ruled on November 20, 2019 to terminate Thanathorn’s membership of the House of Representatives due to his shareholding in the media business, V-Luck Media.

The source also revealed that the motion to file a criminal case against Thanathorn had been presented to the EC board at least three times since the court’s verdict. However, the board did not approve the filing until now. It has ordered its officials to find more evidence to support the case since a criminal case can be appealed in three different courts.

Thanathorn is not the first March 2019 election candidate against whom the EC has pressed charges. Earlier, the EC had filed cases against candidates who had applied to become members of Parliament after having been a member of a political party for less than 90 days before the election date, in violation of the election law.

Pareena went to the Environmental Crime Suppression Division to acknowledge the charges under the Forest Act, the National Reserved Forests Act and the Groundwater Act.

She reportedly denied all charges and expressed no qualms since she was highly confident in her lawyer, Tossapon Pengsom, who has gathered evidence, debunking 30 points of the charges.

However, Tossapon was concerned that witnesses might be threatened during the process. He might therefore consult with the police in 30 days.

He also has to obtain more than 100 documents detailing ownership of the land that were issued under laws both currently effective and ineffective to inspect the timeline of Pareena’s land possession.

The minister said today (March 10) that officials have investigated the case of face-mask hoarding, which the media should focus on, rather than his resignation, after rumours that he allegedly knew about the claimed hoarding and planned sale of masks to China.

After police found there were no masks being hoarded, Thamanat believed the photos were edited, but it might also be part of a political scheme, he said.

He has also reported to the police all the media that have published false information about the Department of Internal Trade and the Commerce Ministry.

Regarding criticism from Democrat Party members, Thamanat said it was not his business to speak about other parties, but he asked the media to present only news that is beneficial to the country.

Jurin said that the Democrat Party abided by the principle of democracy.

The majority of party members chose to form the coalition government with Phalang Pracharat Party and some disagreed but it also was their right.

In response to a query by reporters, he said that it was possible for the Democrats to discuss the matter of continuing in the government at the party’s meeting.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, meanwhile, showed no concern about the rumours, saying the Democrat Party could resign from the government if they wanted to.

The government is now facing a crisis of confidence due to the state of the economy and the hoarding of face masks by people associated with the government.

The party was named “Kao Klai Party” chosen as the name of a new party being launched by former executives of the dissolved Future Forward.

It was chosen after a vote at a seminar of the former executives held in Nakhon Nayok province from February 28 to March 1.

The document was officially signed on February 25.

The regulation stipulates that the salaries will be changed according to the positions in the EC. The regulation will cover the salaries of both EC officers and employees.

The pay hike has antagonised Thai netizens who are asking what is the EC’s achievement to deserve a raise in salary, and their accusations against the Future Forward Party, which led to the larty’s dissolution, had only generated resentment among several Thais.