The Constitution Defence Monument that stood for decades in Bangkok’s Laksi district was wrapped up at the tail end the year and soon after taken away in the dead of night. It occupied what is now a construction site for a new Skytrain line, so it might be presumed that it had to be taken out of the way.

But some historians and pro-democracy activists and folks on Facebook are sceptical and worried.

And no one in authority seems to know who took the monument away, where it is or where it might reappear.

This was the second symbol of Thai democracy to vanish mysteriously in two years.

In April 2017, a small plaque commemorating the 1932 revolution that ended absolute monarchy, which was embedded in the asphalt at the Royal Plaza, was replaced with one lauding the monarchy. There was no advance announcement and no explanation afterward.

In November 2014, six months after the military coup, a monument in Buri Ram commemorating the Kingdom’s first constitution was pulled down, ostensibly because it was blocking traffic. It was destroyed, but eventually a replica replaced it.

“Removing these symbols of democracy is like erasing our political history,” says Chatri Prakitnonthakarn, a conservationist and architect who lectures at Silpakorn University on the history of Thai architecture.

The Constitution Defence Monument, he told The Nation Weekend, was “very important” in terms of modern Thai political history. “It commemorated the government’s victory over a pro-monarchist rebellion 80 years ago.”

Prince Bowordet led that failed revolt in 1933, seeking to restore the absolute monarchy replaced the year before by constitutional democracy.

Who was behind it?

The monument was erected in 1936, and on December 27, 2018, it was removed in the middle of the night as young pro-democracy activist Karn Pongpraphapan and a friend streamed the event on Facebook Live.

Soldiers were on duty, but it was not clear who was doing the heavy lifting or who they were working for.

Karn and his friend were arrested for recording the incident and claimed the police officer told them they were threatening “national security”. They were soon released without charge, but their photos and video were erased.

No one at the agencies involved in the Skytrain extension – the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Mass Transit Railway, Culture Ministry’s Fine Arts Department or Transport Ministry’s Department of Highways – seems to know what’s happening with the monument.

“The MRT wasn’t involved in the monument’s removal and doesn’t know where it is,” says MRT Governor Kapapong Sirikantaramas, who oversees the railway construction project.

Fine Arts Department director Anan Chochote says he knows nothing about the removal either, or about any plans to relocate it.

The monument, while little known even among Bangkok residents, was caught in the spotlight in 2010 when the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) used it as a base for red-shirt demonstrations against the then-government.

Subsequent UDD gatherings were held at other pro-democracy monuments upcountry, including in Buri Ram and Khon Kaen.

Chatri notes that Siam under absolute monarchy erected monuments to the kings and various Hindu gods embraced by local Buddhism.

Dedicated to the public

“This was the first monument erected after the 1934 revolution and it was dedicated to ordinary people,” he says.

“The base of the monument features a bas-relief depicting a farming family. It’s important that such importance is attached to ordinary people.”

Chatri hopes the government will carefully conserve the monument, wherever it is and wherever it might end up.

“It was designed as a site-specific monument. The authorities involved should put it back in its original location and redesign the MRT car park instead. And the MRT should have a new plaque made that better explains its historical significance.

“If they can’t put it back where it was, they should install it inside Wat Phrasrimahathat Bang Khen, which is nearby. And if they don’t have another site for it, the Fine Arts Department should do conservation work on it and display it in a museum so that the younger generation can learn about this important moment in modern Thai political history.”

Chatri also hopes that the government in future will consult academics and arrange public hearings to gauge public opinion before taking any action over historic sites.

The EC will consider and announce the election date only after the election royal decree is published in the Royal Gazette, said EC president Ittiporn Boonpracong on Friday.

The development came after Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam had informed the agency on Thursday of activities surrounding the royal coronation ceremony and hinted that February 24 may no longer be an appropriate election date due to the two events overlapping.

The deputy PM took pains to distance the government from what would be a controversial election delay, saying it was the EC’s authority and responsibility to decide. But he suggested on Friday that March 24 could be a perfect date for the election to avoid any clash between it and the coronation processes.

“If it’s March 24, the results can be announced on May 22 which is after the royal coronation,” Wissanu said, referring to the constitutional condition that the election results be announced within 60 days after the poll.

EC Secretary-General Jarungvith Phumma also met on Friday with Wissanu to represent the agency in wishing him a happy New Year. He denied having discussed the election date with the deputy prime minister.

“The EC has already had initial discussions about the election date,” said Jarungvith. “But the final decision depends on the royal decree.”

A source close to the EC revealed the agency preferred March 10 as the new election date. But the authority had not confirmed that by press time.

The strong possibility of another election delay has been stirring up anger among netizens since Thursday, after Wissanu cited the royal coronation as allegedly making organising a February 24 election difficult.

A Thai-language hashtag that can be translated to English as #delaymyass became top trending on Twitter, with netizens slamming the junta, venting their anger about the delay and demanding an election in hundreds of thousands of different tweets.

Political activists and some politicians also spoke out against the possible postponement.

Pro-bono human rights lawyer Anon Nampa announced yesterday that an activity against an election delay would be held this Sunday at the skywalk around the Victory Monument.

Another activist Ekachai Hongkangwan submitted a letter to the EC insisting they hold the election on February 24 as previously planned.

He suggested that the EC could announce the election results in 30 days to prevent any overlap with the royal coronation.

The pro-democracy Future Forward Party (FWP) also showed a solid stance opposing any change in the election date.

FWP leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit said on Thursday that the junta was only using the coronation as an excuse to again put off the vote.

Announcing the poll results earlier to allow time for the coronation is feasible if the junta were sincere about the election, Thanathorn said.

FWP was ready to run in a February election and strongly disagreed for any vote postponement, regardless of the excuse, he stressed.

Other parties such as the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party and medium-sized Bhumjaithai party, on the other hand, said they were ready for the election no matter when the voting takes place.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam yesterday met with the EC commissioners to provide information about how the royal coronation ceremony would roll out. The official event in May will be three days long, but Wissanu stressed that other preparations could last two weeks before and after the coronation ceremony.

Wissanu, the government’s legal expert, however assured that the election would still take place before the coronation.

The timeline is forced by the Constitution, which requires that the vote be held within 150 days of the organic laws coming into effect, he said. So, the election would have to be held no later than May 5, he explained.

The Constitution also requires that the election results be announced within 60 days of the vote, he added.

There might be some overlapping in the preparations for the two major events, Wissanu said.

If the EC insisted that the election be held on February 24, the poll results should be out around April 24, Wissanu said.

That timetable would require the King to preside over the inauguration of Parliament on May 9, only three days after the May 4 to 6 coronation ceremony, when there might be some post-ceremony activities still to attend to, such as hosting international delegations, he said.

A source close to the government yesterday revealed that the government had suggested the election be put off by a month to March 24. The election results and the setting up of the new government could be determined after the royal ceremony, the source said.

After past heavy criticism that the government was trying to cling to power, Wissanu yesterday distanced the government from any possible delays, saying the matter was the EC’s responsibility.

He said the long-awaited election may or may not be postponed depending on the EC’s ability to organise and announce the poll results.

Wissanu said it might not be easy considering the agency would likely have to deal with lots of complaints, with the possibility of holding by-elections due to confusion over the new election method.

Critics and observers yesterday urged the EC to bring the election forward in order to prevent an overlapping of the two events. But Wissanu explained that February 24 is the earliest date possible for all involved parties and agencies to be ready.

The EC is yet to make any decision on the matter. A source close to the EC said the commissioners would discuss the issue today.

Pro-election activists slammed the government, describing Wissanu’s suggestion of delays in order to find water from different sources across the country to complete the coronation ceremony, as undermining the voters’ dignity.

Activist Nuttaa Mahuttana wrote on Facebook: “I never felt my dignity undermined so much until I listened to Wissanu explaining why the election needed to be postponed.”

“After five years of depriving us of our rights, Wissanu should explain why the election has to be delayed, not how to find water for the ceremony,” Nuttaa wrote. “It is an insult to all Thai voters.”

Another activist Kan Pongprapaphan also attacked Wissanu’s explanation as totally off the topic. It degraded the voters’ dignity and Wissanu should be ashamed, he said.

He said he would explain to the EC the procedures and preparations concerning the coronation ceremony.

“About half a month before the coronation set for May 4-6, there would be a process to prepare for the ceremony. After the ceremony, some activities would be held about half a month after that,” Wissanu told reporters before the meeting.

He would explain the situation to the EC and discuss a possible delay, the deputy prime minister added.

“In case the election is delayed from February, the new date will be issued according to the Constitution, meaning not later than May 9,” he said.

The EC would set the new date if it agreed to the postponement, Wissanu said.

PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday insisted that the road map for national elections remain unaltered, dismissing suggestions that the junta will postpone the poll in light of the King’s coronation ceremony.

This idea was floated by ultra royalists Arthit Ourairat and Chulcherm Yugala yesterday, who said the long-awaited general elections should be held after the coronation ceremony.

The Royal Household Bureau announced on Tuesday that the coronation ceremony will be held from May 4 to 6.

Arthit said the election will only lead to conflicts and division due to undemocratic rules and regulations, and that the new reign should be celebrated first before new rules are created later to ensure the country moves toward democracy.

Chulcherm, meanwhile, said the National Council for Peace and Order should be in charge of all aspects of the |ceremony, hence the poll should be held later in May.

However, Prayut dismissed these suggestions yesterday, saying they were personal views and not relevant to the government’s decision.

Prior to the coronation announcement, the possibility of the elections being delayed had been raised over reports that the ballots will not be printed in time for the February 24 vote.

Prayut also rejected this report yesterday, saying he has never spoken about a delay.

“Things remain unchanged,” the premier said. “The Election Commission [EC] will determined the election date. It’s up to them. But considering the current timetable, the election will take place before [the coronation ceremony].”

Prayut admitted that the coronation ceremony was the most important event of the year, apart from the election, but the government can handle both.

Although the junta has remained firm on the election taking place on February 24, the royal decree to officially fix the date has not been published in the Royal Gazette yesterday as previously planned.

Prayut said the EC needed to sort out the matter, adding that no matter what date they decide on, the government will issue a royal decree accordingly.

In a related development, the EC has reiterated that the planned election will not be postponed.

EC secretary-general Jarungwit Pumma said: “There is currently no royal decree for the election but this does not mean the election date will be postponed.” He was responding to widespread rumours of a delay.

Jarungwit also dismissed reports that EC officials had called the political parties to alert them about a postponement, as the ballots cannot be printed in time.

“As for the ballots, we have already finished drafting the terms of reference for the publishing. The printing will certainly be done in time,” he said.

Jarungwit added that in 60 days of the vote the EC must announce the results of at least 95 per cent of the elected MPs. In the past, the EC has announced results within a month, he said.

The election tops the list of the three most important events in 2019, in addition to the coronation and chairing the Asean bloc.

The country has been under the rule of a junta-backed government since the military coup d’etat in May 2014. Junta chief and Prime Minister Prayut has repeatedly hinted at his intent to retain power after the election.

The Phalang Pracharat Party, (PPP) named after Prayut’s pet populist Pracharat project, said it would propose the general as its candidate for premier.

When asked if he will accept the PPP’s offer, Prayut said he has not decided whether he will join any party in the race. “I require some more time [to make a decision]. For now I would like to see people study political parties’ policies first – all parties, not only Phalang Pracharat,” he said.

“The political parties also should keep their word as people will have high expectations from the election.”

The economy is also expected to benefit from the coming election, with the Commerce Ministry saying it could boost consumer spending due to political activities during the campaign.

EC Secretary General Jarungwit Pumma said: “There is currently no royal decree for the election but this does not mean the election date will be postponed.”

He was responded to widespread rumours that the day will be delayed from February 24.

Jarungwit also dismissed reports that EC officials had telephoned the political parties to alert them about the postponement. Rumours claimed the EC may delay the day because it could not have the election ballots printed in time for the poll.

“Concerning the ballots, we already finished drafting the terms of reference for the publishing. The printing would be certainly finished in time,” the secretary general said.

Jarungwit said the EC has to announce the results of at least 95 per cent of MP election within 60 days of the vote.

In the past, the EC has announced results within a month, he said.

THE AGE of neo-populism has emerged in Thailand, with at least four political parties vying on state-welfare-cum-populist platforms in the next general election scheduled for February 24.

Phalang Pracharat Party, whose leaders are members of the outgoing Prayut Cabinet, is the front-runner on this platform exemplified by the state welfare card scheme, which already has more than 14 million low-income members.

This government spent Bt19.2 billion in 2017 on the popular scheme aimed at helping farmers and people whose annual income is less than Bt100,000 per year or Bt8,300 per month.

Another Bt27 billion was spent on the scheme in the first eight months of this year, with an additional Bt53 billion earmarked for the third quarter of the year and 2019.

The junta-led government kicked off this scheme in 2016 by inviting low-income earners nationwide to register for state welfare at the closest branch of three state-owned banks, namely Krungthai, Government Savings Bank and Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.

The first round of registration attracted 8.3 million people, 5.4 million of whom were non-farmers and 2.9 million from the farming community. Those earning less than Bt30,000 per year, or Bt2,500 per month, were given a one-time Bt3,000 each, while those with annual incomes of between Bt30,000 and Bt100,000 were given Bt1,500 each.

Later, the new cardholders were given more conditions to meet. First, they had to be at least 18 years old with an annual income of less than Bt100,000 as of 2016 and second, their financial assets could not exceed Bt100,000.

The third condition was if they owned a house or condo unit, the area could not exceed 25 square wah or 35 square metres respectively. If they own land, it cannot exceed 1 rai per person, while farmers cannot own more than 10 rai per person.

Household expenses for welfare cardholders are also low due to a Bt300 per person subsidy on daily necessities, on cooking gas, a monthly Bt500 subsidy on transport expenses per person per month, covering trains, buses, Skytrain and subway.

Welfare cardholders can also apply for occupational training courses, so they can boost their income with new skills.

The Phalang Pracharat Party is expected to back Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to form the next government.

Future Forward Party’s platform also includes a comprehensive welfare policy. Led by Thanathorn Jungrungruangkij, the party wants to extend maternity leave to 180 days, and give parents a childcare subsidy of Bt1,200 per month per child until they turn six.

If elected, the party also promises to give college students aged 18 to 22 a monthly subsidy of Bt2,000, and increase the current monthly subsidy for senior citizens from Bt600 to Bt1,800.

The party said a comprehensive welfare scheme will cost approximately Bt650 billion per year, which will be covered by cutting the Defence Ministry’s budget by 30 per cent as well as cutting the Board of Investment’s privileges and other tax-allowance programmes. The scheme will also be financed by a hike in land tax and proceeds from legalisation of the underground lottery.

The party seeks to cut the country’s defence spending by Bt64 billion to about 1.1 per cent of the country’s GDP.

The party’s other reform policies include aiming to slow down the growth of big monopolistic groups, revamping the military, boosting democratic values, decentralising the government, overhauling the education sector and upgrading agriculture.

As for the Democrats, leader Abhisit Vejjajiva announced that his party had six policies to help low-income earners, and promised that if elected, the first policy would be to issue proper land-title deeds for farmers to replace the other, inferior documents they had been given.

For instance, he said, the Sor Por Kor document for land granted to small-scale farmers would become an “inheritance” document that can be used as collateral for loans.

Second, the party will establish a community water fund to help farmers get access to water resources all year.

Third, the party will guarantee a minimum income for all farmers, for instance, rice farmers will get Bt10,000 for every tonne of rice they produce, rubber farmers will get Bt60 for every kilogram of rubber sheet and palm-oil farmers Bt10 for every kilo of palm oil.

Fourth, the party will guarantee an annual minimum income of Bt120,000 for manual workers.

Fifth, senior citizens will get Bt1,000 per month, and sixth, people earning less than Bt100,000 per year will get a monthly subsidy of Bt800.

However, Abhisit did not explain how the party will finance these schemes. Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party has chosen not to announce details of its policies too early because it does not want them to be copied by rivals. However, Pheu Thai Party in all its incarnations has been known for its welfare-cum-populist policies, especially in the early 2000s, when Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister.

At this stage, the party’s top candidates for leadership – Chatchart Sitthiphan and Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan – are only criticising the current welfare card scheme and other related policies.

They also say the middle- and low-income groups have been hit hard by mismanagement of the economy, resulting in an uneven distribution of wealth.

In his speech, Chatchart cited the latest opinion surveys showing the government’s failure to improve the population’s well-being, while public and household debts have outstripped economic and income growth.

The economic outlook has also been battered by a lack of public and investor confidence, which he said, will only be restored if the election is transparent and fair.

He also lambasted the government’s high-speed train project linking Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-tapao airports. Instead, he said, the government should have opted for an inter-provincial railway that would deliver more economic benefits and spread public infrastructure development to other parts of the country.

As for the welfare card system, he said it was inefficient and had not helped stimulate the economy because it was only a temporary solution to tackling poverty.

He promised that if his party were elected, it will ensure that people have better opportunities to reduce their poverty.

Sudarat, meanwhile, said Thai citizens – from downtown Bangkok to Khon Kaen province – were unhappy with this government’s performance because the economy remained sluggish and the household debts were on the rise. She said Pheu Thai was experienced in economic management and will deliver a stronger economy if it is chosen to form the next administration.

She also accused the incumbents of not being able to generate new income and opting for tax hikes to cover budget shortfalls.

Instead, she said, her party will focus on boosting the price of agricultural products to tackle poverty and give the country a bigger role in the international trade arena.

The survey found that if Chatchart led the government, the party could expect to win around 220 seats in the 500-member Lower House. On the other hand, under Sudarat the result would be between 190 to 200 seats, according to a Pheu Thai source.

“So, a change in strategy to put Chatchart at top of the list is possible, taking into consideration the popularity poll,” the source said. Reacting to the report, Sudarat admitted that Pheu Thai had indeed discussed that possibility.

“We [Sudarat and Chatchart] work together and we support each other,” Sudarat said.

Sudarat had all along been seen as Pheu Thai’s No 1 PM candidate, considering her political seniority as well as her close ties with both the Shinawatra camp and good relations with the Army, mainly General Prawit Wongsuwan. Chatchart was out of the picture because of his sabbatical from politics after the 2014 coup to serve as the chief executive officer of a giant real-estate developer.

However, it cannot be denied that the former transport minister remains one of the most popular politicians, loved especially by young voters and netizens. Chatchart has been dubbed as “the Strongest Minister of Them All” after a photo of him in running shorts carrying a bag of traditional Thai rice, showing his down-to-earth character, went viral on the Internet.

Chatchart on New Year’s eve hinted on his Facebook page that he was ready to return to politics, describing 2019 – which sees Thailand’s first election in years – as “the final battle”.

Critics believe Chatchart could be Pheu Thai’s saviour amid intense competition and all the difficulties in the upcoming election.

Apart from Pheu Thai’s internal affairs, these moves in part reflect confidence about the poll taking place, although the Royal Decree has not been issued to announced February 24 as the election date.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday also expressed similar confidence.

Although the possibility of an election delay was reported last week due to complications related to the printing of ballots, Abhisit said there had been no statements from the authorities.

The Election Commission has one month before the election to print the ballots, he said. The task could be done in half the time, he added.

Abhisit said he hoped the Democrats would win the election with more than 100 seats in Parliament.

The Democrat Party was willing to work with any party sharing the same ideology to protect the national interest, including the junta-appointed Senate, he said. If the Democrat Party leads the government, Abhisit said he was confident it could run the country and would not run into conflict with the Senate.

 This was a question posed by Asean colleagues last year to Thai officials during a meeting of the 10-member bloc, suggesting a lack of confidence in the Kingdom’s ability to carry out the important tasks.

Diplomats told The Nation that they did not want to see political turmoil in Thailand jeopardise Asean meetings any more, as the regional grouping badly needed to push forward many relevant issues for the group to achieve centrality of regional security architecture and economic integration.

Protests in April 2009 had forced a cancellation of the Asean Summit in Pattaya, after anti-government red-shirts stormed the meeting venue, humiliating the then-government led by the Democrat Party.

Elections and a military coup d’etat since then have failed to achieve reconciliation, heal the divisions in society or restore stability to Thai politics. If the incumbent leaders managed to exploit the coming election to justify the perpetuation of their power, the Asean chairmanship could run into trouble due to domestic political struggle, diplomats said.

The first Asean Summit in Thailand has been set for late June to avoid a power vacuum during the formation of the new government after the election. Usually, Asean hosts two summits a year – the first one is an in-house summit due in March or April and the final one is with dialogue partners, including leaders of superpowers, in November.

“Asean leaders have to wait for the first meeting until the middle of the year, when they should have had the opportunity to hold the meetings early,” former career diplomat Kobsak Chutikul said.

“We would not have faced this situation if the government had held the election in 2018,” he said. “They could have done it [elections] but they didn’t and have led the country to difficulties.” Asean diplomats said they hoped Thailand could set up a new government without problems and a smooth transition would enable the country to steer the progress of Asean.

File photo: Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (L) receives the gavel from Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R) as a transfer of the ASEAN Chairmanship during the closing ceremony of the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related meetings in Singapore, 15 November 2018. Singapore is hosting the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings under the theme ‘Resilient and Innovative’ this year. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

With the theme of “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”, Thailand is unlikely to push any relevant issues if incumbent leaders manage to retain power after the election, Kobsak said. “They are not visionary leaders for foreign affairs.”

There are plenty of tough issues for Thailand to deal with under its leadership in 2019, including the Rakhine crisis in Myanmar, the contentious South China Sea and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Heavyweight Asean leader and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said recently that Asean needed to press Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end the Rakhine crisis. Asean should also join the international community in addressing the genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine state if Suu Kyi and other responsible leaders failed to tackle the issue properly, he said.

More than 720,000 refugees have fled Rakhine since August 2017 after militant attacks on Myanmar security outposts prompted a tough reaction from the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military). While Asean has urged Myanmar leaders to address the issue at its root cause by eliminating discrimination against the ethnic group, Thailand has consistently focused its limited involvement on the humanitarian side.

The burden of proximity, close military-to-military relations and economic interests have forced Thailand to refrain from tough engagement with Myanmar over the Rohingya issue, said Kobsak, who is a former member of an advisory board on Rakhine crisis.

Under Thailand’s leadership, Asean wants to push ahead a text for negotiating a code of conduct in the contentious South China Sea. The group intended to finish the text by 2019, but outside observers expressed their concerns that the code of conduct would be too influenced by China.

Beijing is at loggerheads with many Asean members – Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – over a territorial dispute on the South China Sea. The group wants to have a legally binding code of conduct with China to control the behaviour of riparian states while Beijing has increasingly militarised the islands in the sea.

Asean also wanted to see significant progress in negotiations on the RCEP by 2019, but Mahathir said Malaysia would not sign the pact unless it benefited poor people.

Differences between China and India over RCEP would also obstruct its achievement, according to officials close to the negotiations, who added that Thailand’s leadership is crucial.

Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution, yesterday urged the president of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, to “consider what he should do” to take responsibility for what he described as the agency’s “loss of public confidence”.

Watcharapol had withdrawn from the case following criticism that he could be biased in favour of General Prawit since he was a former subordinate of the general.

The others on the nine-member NACC last Thursday voted 5-3 to drop charges against Prawit, who was investigated for allegedly possessing a large number of luxury watches without reporting them to the anti-graft agency, as required by law. The ruling drew flak from both critics and politicians.

The NACC said it found that the watches – together valued at more than Bt20 million – belonged to a deceased friend of Prawit, as the deputy PM-defence minister had initially claimed, and that he had concealed assets.

At his teashop at Ying Charoen Market in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district yesterday, Srisuwan launched his signature campaign to impeach the five NACC members.

He aims to collect at least 20,000 signatures to start the impeachment process, as allowed by the Constitution. Srisuwan said he expected to reach the number within two weeks.

The charter gives citizens who muster the support of at least 20,000 eligible voters the right to petition the National Assembly president to take action against any NACC member who “deliberately performs duties or exercises powers contrary to the provisions of the Constitution or the law, or seriously contravenes or fails to comply with the ethical standards”.

If the accusation is found to have ground, the case would be referred to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions.

Srisuwan said his petition would focus on the five commissioners who voted to absolve Prawit. The NACC president should strive to restore the credibility the agency lost due to its decision, he said. He considered it Watcharapol’s responsibility, even though the NACC chief had recused himself from the case.

Meanwhile, Election Commission (EC) secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma yesterday refused to confirm or deny speculation that the next general election could be postponed from the scheduled February 24. Jarungvith said the EC would announce the official election date within five days of a royal decree on the election being issued next month.

The election must bea held between February 24 and May 9, within the 150-day legal timeframe under the new Constitution, after the new organic law on the election of MPs came into effect on December 11.

“The EC needs to take all relevant factors into consideration, including the printing of ballot papers,” Jarungvith said. “There is no delay in the election. The EC has not yet set the date for the national vote. February 24 is just one of the days that the EC is ready to hold the election,” he added.

Earlier, there was speculation that the general election could be postponed for a month because of the demands of printing ballot papers that need to have different details like candidate names and numbers, their political parties and logos, for each of the constituencies.

EC president Ittiporn Boonpracong said yesterday he was unaware of any discussion on postponing the election.