As of January 21, the Democrat Party has 129,392 members, followed by Tai Rak Tham (49,721), Future Forward (43,201), Thai Local Power (30,072) and Bhumjai Thai (30,031).

The EC also revealed that Pheu Thai has 20,334 members, Thai Raksa Chart 12,272 members, Chartthaipattana 20,587 members and Palang Pracharat 4,206 members.

Future Forward ranked third in the number of members although it was only set up in March last year, while Palang Pracharat, set up last year, is known to be in favour of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is also chief of the junta.

Eight parties failed to submit their number of members while two others have no members, the EC said without elaboration.

Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana and Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak would also be named in the list as his deputy and third in command, respectively.

The Constitution requires parties to propose three candidates for the premiership.

Prayut, who led the military coup to topple the elected government in May 2014, is always reluctant to make clear commitments about his political ambitions.

The junta-sponsored charter gives two options to fill the top job in government: being proposed by a political party or by a two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives to install a non-elected figure.

METICULOUS and stringent rules governing campaigning for the March 24 general election may restrict freedom of expression as well as voters’ right to information, experts say.

The Royal Decree published in the Royal Gazette on Wednesday means the election will take place in 60 days. It also gave the green light for electoral campaigns to kick off. But instead of actively wooing voters online, many politicians seemed to have retreated from their social media sites for fear of violating the campaign rules drawn up by the Election Commission (EC).

The rules, for instance, stipulate that any online media channel used for the campaign must be registered with the EC. Failure to comply is a crime punishable by up to six months in prison and up to a Bt10,000 fine.

Sudarat Keyuraphan, Pheu Thai Party’s head of election strategy, has been inactive on Facebook since Wednesday. She announced that she would not return to the platform until she had notified the EC of her online campaign tool.

Many other politicians from parties across the political spectrum posted similar messages.

Authorities yesterday also warned politicians that they could be in breach of the law for erecting campaign placards on streets. They were advised to take them down in five days otherwise they could face legal action for breaching the cleanliness and order law.

Authorities were also discussing how and where parties and politicians could place leaflets and placards in line with the EC’s orders.

Only Thai Raksa Chart Party’s core leader Chaturon Chaisang defied the trend.

He wrote on Facebook on Wednesday soon after the hasty retreat by the others: “I’ve been advised to stop making comments or even temporarily shut down my Facebook page. But please be informed that I’m ready to obey the laws while I also uphold my right to freedom of expression.

“So, I insist on running the page and making comments. For starters, I’ll criticise the EC tomorrow.”

Writing again on Facebook yesterday, Chaturon said the EC should be clear about the definition of “election campaign”. The agency can prohibit politicians from persuading people to vote for particular candidates but they should not be banned from expressing their opinions, which is freedom of speech, Chaturon said.

He also said he understood the EC’s efforts to ensure all parties had equal resources. The election rules are aimed at ensuring a level playing field for the contestants.

But providing all parties the same chance to speak to the public on a designated television programme was unappealing and, in the end, no party would benefit from this because there would be no audience, he said.

Voters would also lose the chance to be informed of policy proposals, Chaturon added. The politician suggested that the EC revise the strict rules and regulations governing campaigning. Political scientist Siriphan Noksuan Sawasdee expressed similar concerns in a recent forum on the election.

Parties and politicians are presented with a difficult problem in the election campaign, she pointed out. “[The rules] are full of traps,” she said.

Regulations that limit the number of campaign assistants and the areas where candidates can erect placards or place leaflets limit the chance for the voters to get to know their potential representatives, Siriphan explained.

The big question is who would benefit from this restriction. The political scientist said that former MPs who are already familiar with the voters would have an advantage over newcomers who would not have as much opportunity to present themselves to the voters.

The party’s secretary general Mitti Tiyapairat said the powers that override all legislation if used will be considered an intervention in the election process and preparation.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha should show spirit and sincerity by adhering to the call, Mitti said.

Other calls from the newly formed party included that the Prayut government should act in line with a government after a parliament is dissolved, meaning it should not transfer officials and not enact any policy that could affect the next government.

Mitti said Prayut should stop holding mobile Cabinet meeting in other provinces.

“There is no rules and laws that prohibit the Prayut government from doing so but the government and the junta should not use the power of the state to create advantages in the election,” he said.

According to the rules, this government will have full authority to continue its work after the Royal Decree on the election was issued and after the election on March 24.

Mitti also called for the prime minister to announce his decision on his political future, as the public wanted to know whether he would remain in politics.

The Election Commission should work and act with neutrality, freedom and transparency so that the March election is internationally accepted, he said.

The party said it was ready to compete in the election and on January 29 it would conduct training about the rules and laws for its candidates.

Google said it is combating misinformation alongside news organisations in Asia Pacific and around the world through Google News Initiatives. The challenge is how the platforms and newsrooms could together strengthen quality journalism and fight misinformation, said Saiyai Sakawee, communication manager of Google Thailand.

One part of this mission is the verified fact-checkers. Google is working to increase the number of verified fact-checkers throughout the ecosystem, Saiyai said, including for Thailand.

Saiyai said Google is addressing this challenge in three ways: first, it is building products to elevate quality journalism on its platforms; second, it is collaborating with newsrooms to ensure accurate information, and third, it backs research and builds programmes to improve digital literacy.

She explained that Google, as a search engine, is not an oracle of absolute truth. Search results are ranked based on their authoritativeness and relevance. The Google search algorithm balance between relevance and authoritativeness varies, depending on the nature of the query.

“Google’s mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. We are training our systems to recognise and address crisis events,” said Saiyai.

She added that Google was working with the media industry to develop the parameters for quality journalism. For example, it provided the Digital News Innovation fund to The True Project to identify eight indicators of trust: best practices, author/reporter expertise, type of work, citations and references, methodology, locally sources, diverse voices and actionable feedback.

The Google News Initiative was launched two years ago with the aim of building a stronger future for journalism. It consisted of three parts: products that help news organisations and journalists succeed in web partnerships; partnerships with publishers to create joint solutions for business challenges; and programmes that help build the future of journalism.

Under Google News Initiative, Google develops and supports programmes called Digital News Innovation Fund and Google News Lab, Saiyai said.

The role of the Google News Lab, whose Asian centre is located in Singapore, is to work with journalists and entrepreneurs around the world, including Thailand, to drive innovation in the news industry. Its global team works with journalists worldwide.

It also provides an online trading centre to offer online training courses for journalists around the world. Currently, it is offering 55 lessons in 17 languages on the best practices for using Google’s tools and products.

“The online courses are now available in Thai language. It is free of cost and facilitates journalists as they learn how to use and utilise Google’s tools and products in doing reporting and storytelling. There are many courses, for example, basic knowledge, publishing and monetisation, data journalism, fact-checking, and others. Some of the tools are: Election Databot, Google Search, Google Earth, Google Chrome, Google News, Google Maps, YouTube and Google Public Data Explorer,” said Saiyai.

She also mentioned tools journalists could use for election coverage. For example, Flourish, funded by Google News Lab, is free for newsrooms, allowing journalists and developers to upload and reuse data visualisations. She added that Google also offers In-person Training, which was done in Thailand once last year. It has trained 130,000 journalists across 65 countries, including Thailand, in person since 2015.

Moreover, YouTube’s Breaking News Context is also available in Thailand, which provides a context to help people make their own decisions.

Srivara instructed Nakhon Phanom police Pol Captain Chom Churat to bring the case to him on Thursday for review. He said it was unclear if the killings had taken place in Thai territory, he said.

“I have ordered further investigations into the cases since the two deaths were not caused by natural causes,” Srivara told reporters.

Former communist insurgent Surachai “Saedan” Danwattana-nusorn and his “aides” Chatcharn “Phoochana” Bubphawan and Kraidej “Kasalong” Luelert were apparently living in self-imposed exile in Laos when they went missing in December.

The bodies of Surachai’s aides were found on December 26 and 27 in the Mekong River, which borders the two countries. Their hands and feet were bound, their faces beaten to a pulp and their organs removed and body cavities stuffed with concrete before the bodies were flung into the river.

Primary examination indicates that this kind of brutal murder was uncommon in Thailand, Srivara said. Given the fact that the Phoochana and Kasalong were allegedly involved in the possession of war weapons, their deaths might be related to security matters, not politics, Srivara said, but declined to elaborate on the difference.

The police and military had earlier denied any role in the death of the two, as they had lived in exile in a neighbouring country since the military coup in 2014. There was no intelligence report on Surachai’s fate, according to Srivara.

The bodies of his aides were brought to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Police Hospital in the capital. The bodies will be handed over to their relatives only after the re-examination process is finished, another police officer said.

Former communist insurgent Surachai “Saedan” Danwattananusorn and his “aides” Chatchai “Phoochana” Bubphawan and Kraidej “Kasalong” Luelert were apparently living in self-imposed exile in Laos when they went missing in December.

The aides’ bodies were found on December 26 and 27 in the Mekong River, which borders the two countries.

Their hands and feet were bound, their faces beaten to a pulp and their organs removed and replaced with concrete before the bodies were flung into the river.

Deputy police chief Pol General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said the two likely died outside Thailand and the Mekong current carried their bodies into Thai territory. However, he refused to confirm whether the bodies found were those of Surachai’s close aides.

The 77-year-old dissident Surachai, who joined the red-shirt movement, was sentenced for lese majeste in 2013 and then granted amnesty, but had sought refuge in Laos after the May 2014 military coup.

Second Army Region Commander Lt-General Tharakorn Thammawinthorn, who oversees the Northeast and the Thai-Lao border region, said military intelligence indicated that Surachai and his associates had taken refuge in Laos several years ago, but the military had not been following their movement outside Thailand.

The three dissidents did not return to Thailand, he said. “It is the duty of police and the Foreign Ministry to ask Laos to cooperate on extradition as they were fleeing from many charges,” the commander said.

Asked whether Surachai was still alive, Tharakorn said he had no idea. “He is not in our territory and I don’t know if he has problems with anybody. If he was under our jurisdiction, we would have taken care of him,” he said.

Meanwhile, Surachai’s wife Pranee Danwattananusorn told Prachatai news website that she believes her husband is already dead.

“Initially, I was told there were three bodies floating on the Mekong River, but a village head untied one and let it float away,” she said. “I pray for his soul to rest in peace. Those who have committed this crime will have to pay the price.”

New York-based Human Rights Watch yesterday called on the Lao government to investigate the disappearance of the political activists, who were last seen in Vientiane. The Lao government remained tight-lipped on the matter.

Many dissidents in exile are considered to be hardcore red-shirts, who also have anti-monarchy sentiments. Five of these dissidents, including Ittipon “DJ Sunho” Sukpaen and Wuttipong “Ko-Tee” Kotthammakhun, have reportedly gone missing. Their associates believe they were murdered in Laos, but there has been no official confirmation and the Lao authorities have refused to acknowledge they ever lived in the country.

THE ELECTION Commission (EC) yesterday finally announced that the long-awaited election will be held on March 24, but did not indicate if the official results will be declared before May 9, raising doubts of legal compliance with the timeframe set by the Constitution.

Hours after the Royal Decree on the general election was published in the Royal Gazette yesterday, chief Election Commissioner Ittiporn Boonpracong called a meeting to decide on the polling date, even though by law the EC has five days to make the decision.

The election date has been a much-discussed topic since the junta-backed government handed the “hot potato” to the EC. Now, it is the EC’s responsibility to ensure the polls do not overlap with the coronation of the monarch, which will be held from May 4 to 6, and the many ceremonies before and after the event. However, most commissioners decided on March 24 as the date, as they had taken into account other poll-related activities, Ittiporn said.

“This is the most appropriate date because it allows us to carry out all the activities in time,” Ittiporn said. “These activities include the MP application, voting from abroad, as well as the electoral campaign.”

The commission considered other date options, including March 10 that had been floated earlier, but concluded that it would leave them with too little time for pre-election procedures, he said.

Allowing 52 days for parties to carry out their electoral campaigns was one factor that they had taken into consideration. They finally decided on March 24 as the best option, Ittiporn said.

Debate continued, however, over whether the election results should be finalised by May 9 – the final day of the 150-day timeframe set by the Constitution after the MP election law comes into effect.

Ittiporn declined to confirm whether the commission could be able to complete the whole process and avoid the risk of unconstitutional polling, which could lead to an annulment of the election.

At the moment, the EC would focus on pre-election activities, Ittiporn said. The agency would discuss these issues later, including whether to submit the matter for an opinion from the Constitutional Court, he added. After the Royal Decree yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement asking people to help keep peace and order throughout the election process as well as the coronation ceremony and avoid any conflict that would lead to a political crisis as in the past.

The government, which took power after the 2014 coup, also encouraged voters to exercise their rights. Junta leader and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday tweeted in his personal account: “The Royal Decree is already published. I ask that everyone respect and go toward the #election2019 with peace, for peace in the country.”

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam yesterday said that though the Royal Decree had already been issued, the government maintained its full authority.

Unlike previous charters that allowed only an acting government to run the country before the election, this Constitution allowed the current government full authority until the next government takes office, Wissanu said. But the government will exercise its power in an appropriate manner, he said.

Wissanu, who is in charge of the government’s legal affairs, also said that the electoral campaign could be kicked off now that the Royal Decree had already taken effect.

He warned parties and politicians to be cautious about their budget as well as the campaign. They would be watched closely by the EC, he added.

Four ministers stay on

In a related development, the four ministers who had joined the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat remained in office even though the Royal Decree had been issued.

PM’s Office Minister Kobsak Pootrakool, who is one of the four members of the party, said yesterday that they had already discussed the matter. But he refused to say when they would give up their posts, which has exposed them to criticism as they could abuse their power to gain advantage over others contesting the elections.

Meanwhile, anti-election groups turned up yesterday outside the EC’s office and voiced their opposition to the announcement of the polling date. They said the election should be delayed until the coronation ceremony was over.

However, the Association of Thai Securities Companies chairperson Pattera Dilokrungthirapop said that the announcement is a clear signal and would have a positive impact on Thailand’s capital markets and lure more foreign investment. It will also boost the confidence of local investors.

He was speaking at a press conference after chairing an urgent meeting of EC members.

The meeting was held after the long-awaited royal decree ordering a general election of members of Parliament was issued on Wednesday.

Ittiporn also detailed the processes of candidate registration, advance election and overseas balloting.

The constitutional process calls for the EC) to announce a date for the election within five days of the decree taking effect on Wednesday with its publication in the Royal Gazette.

The law was issued at the command of His Majesty the King and was undersigned by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The four-clause law puts the president of the EC in charge of ensuring adherence to the royal decree.

It requires the EC to formally announce the date of the election in the Royal Gazette within five days of the decree coming into force.  The election date must be no less than 45 days and no more than 60 days from the day the decree takes effect.