In a Twitter message, Thaksin said: “He looked and sounded intimidating and fearful. It’s so different from his soft and sweet manner when he was clinging to my table asking for the Army chief’s seat.”

He did not name anyone, but was obviously referring to Deputy PM and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who served as the Royal Thai Army commander-in-chief from October 2004 to September 2005. Thaksin was serving as premier at that time.

Thaksin also included a link in his tweet, which led readers to a report about General Prawit blaming the former PM for political conflicts and disorder in the country.

Thaksin, who was ousted in a military coup in September 2006, has lived in self-exile since fleeing the country in 2008. The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders sentenced him in absentia to two years in jail for abuse of power.

On Tuesday, Thaksin posted a Facebook message recalling the military coup that overthrew his government. Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of the 2006 military takeover.

In his post, Thaksin asked if Thailand had improved since the 2006 coup, noting that the last two coups had ousted two prime ministers who are siblings and the most popular government leaders in Thai history.

Meanwhile, both Thaksin’s son and a loyal party member poked fun at Prayut’s publicity campaign yesterday, saying it imitated the one used by the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party in the run-up to the 2005 general election.

An online poster issued by the Army Cyber Centre features the slogan “Four Years of Repair and Four More Years of Building”, with an image of a striding General Prayut. This is part of the government’s “Reform Together” campaign.

In 2005, Thaksin’s party used the exact same slogan in its election campaigning. The party won by a landslide, giving Thaksin another term as prime minister.

But he was ousted by the military just a little over a year later, in a coup led by Prawit’s successor, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin.

Watana Muangsook, a key politician in the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai Party, tweeted yesterday: “That’s the same slogan Thai Rak Thai used in the 2005 election.

“If you want to copy, it’s better you try copying how Thaksin’s brains work, so the country will not be so disastrous.”

Thaksin’s son Panthongtae tweeted: “Dad, did you just buy the army webpage?” followed by two laughing emoticons. Panthongtae also ran the two campaign posters side by side for readers to compare.

KEY POLITICAL parties are set to see a significant reduction in MPs after new regulations were issued reducing the number of constituency candidates.

For instance, Pheu Thai Party’s strongholds – the North and the Northeast – will lose 13 seats in Parliament, while the Democrat Party could lose six MPs, as the number of seats in the South and Bangkok has been reduced by three each.

The political parties will have no choice but to make adjustments in accordance with the new boundaries, according to observers.

Political analyst Stithorn Thananithichot said no parties were gaining an upper hand at this stage, adding that the impact of gerrymandering would only surface once the exact electoral boundaries are drawn.

The number of MPs from each province was published in the Royal Gazette yesterday.

Since the number of constituency candidates have been reduced by 25 – from 375 in 2011 to 350 based on the new Constitution – the decrease in the number of seats in some areas is natural.

The number of seats in Parliament is based on the population. As per government records, the population stands at 66,188,503 people, and every 189,110 people get to have one MP.

In the South – perceived as a Democrat Party stronghold – the number of MPs has gone down from 53 to 50. However, Nipit Intrasombat, a former Democrat MP from Phatthalung, said the swing in the number of constituency MPs was not unexpected.

“It’s nothing to be concerned about. We are very well aware of the change,” he told The Nation.

“As the total number has been cut down, it’s natural that we’ll see some changes. All parties are under the same system and affected by this equally.”

Despite three seats being taken away, Nipit said the Democrat Party will suffer little impact.

Besides, he said, some of the former Democrat candidates will not run in Surat Thani and Trang provinces, which have lost one seat each.

“One MP from Surat Thani said he will withdraw this time, while the one in Trang has been given a red card. So this works out perfectly,” he said.

Nikorn Chamnong, a key member from Chartthaipattana Party, whose stronghold in Suphan Buri province has also seen a reduction by one seat, said his party was prepared for the change and the candidate would be added to the party list instead.

“We anticipated this from the time the Constitution was promulgated last year and have been preparing for the change. We’re not surprised,” Nikorn said. “We can accept this. The number is reduced based on the population. It’s reasonable.”

Bound by law

Meanwhile, political analyst Stithorn, who hails from the King Prajadhipok’s Institute, explained that the reduction in MP numbers was dictated by law.

“It is what it is. The number of constituency MPs has to go down because the number of seats has dropped by 25. However, this number has been moved to the party-list allocation, which has risen to 150. We will still have 500 MPs, just like we did in the 2011 elections.”

However, he said, problems will arise with gerrymandering once the exact boundaries in each province are drawn.

“Unfair constituency boundaries or gerrymandering arises when a party’s stronghold is divided and it is put at a disadvantage,” he said. “That is when a party’s stronghold is separated into two constituencies, then that party may lose in that constituency.”

However, he said, unfair practices such as these are not easy to cover up.

The law dictates how the boundaries should be drawn, taking into account such things as geographical proximity, he said. Public hearings are also required, so parties or voters can complain if such irregularities occur, he added.

According to the Election Commission, the drawing of boundaries should be completed in 55 days.

CORRUPTION in the bureaucracy will cost the country up to Bt100 billion this fiscal year, an expert on graft revealed yesterday.

Sungsidh Piriyarangsan said his “cautious estimate” put the damages at between Bt50 billion and Bt100 billion for 2018 alone. He based his estimate on the findings of 14 studies on corruption funded by the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC).

According to Sungsidh, his case study – one of the 14 – on an anti-narcotics state agency found irregularities worth Bt2 billion to Bt10 billion, involving rewards offered to officials making arrests over the past year. (The current fiscal year started on October 1, 2017 and ends on September 30.)

Sungsidh said transgressions were committed by state officials at various levels at agencies in Bangkok, in the provinces and also at local administrative organisations. And corruption involved both large and small government projects, with an increasing tendency to involve the smaller ones, he added.

“They may be small projects but the cost of damages [from corruption] is huge,” he said.

Sungsidh was speaking at an academic seminar presenting findings of the 14 research studies on corruption, held by the PACC at a hotel in Nonthaburi’s Pak Kret district.

The case studies cover different forms of corruption investigated by the PACC, according to the agency’s deputy secretary-general, Wannop Somjintanakul. The studies were aimed at rectifying weak points and preventing similar irregularities in the future, he added.

Sungsidh, an Associate Professor and Dean of the College of Social Innovation at Rangsit University, is known for his research and books on corruption. Yesterday he detailed the various forms of corruption involving state officials uncovered by the case studies. These included registration of fake marriages between foreigners and Thais, embezzlement of state funds intended for the needy, and short-changing from procurement processes.

“Corruption has increased rapidly because Thai politics is a closed system,” the academic said. “A big weakness is that we have no agency that truly scrutinises. Parliament and independent agencies exist but they can’t scrutinise politicians.

“The country’s history and culture enshrine the existing patronage system, in which people with connections thrive. Also, law enforcement is not effective enough although this government has issued a lot of good anti-corruption laws,” he added.

Sungsidh predicted an increase in corruption, and warned that in the end the country’s economy would be undermined due to unfair business competition stemming from bribes paid to corrupt officials.

When asked whether an elected or unelected government is more corrupt, he said his past study found that politically strong administrations tended to be more corrupt, whether they were elected or not.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the PACC’s executive board, Kitti Limchaikit, said yesterday that the agency had received more than 30,000 complaints during the past 10 years of its existence. They were mainly complaints against state officials.

In a related development, the Counter Corruption Division (CCD) of the Royal Thai Police is investigating seven state officials suspected of aiding an oil trading company to evade excise taxes on the sale of petrol marked for export to Myanmar.

Three of the officials work in the Excise Department with the other four employed by the Customs Department, according to a source familiar with the case.

The officials were found to have signed documents certifying exports of 32,000 litres of petrol through the Mae Sot border checkpoint in Tak province. The petrol was later found to have been sold in Phitsanulok province.

Police Maj-General Kitti Rianracha, commissioner of the CCD, said the deal had cost the country at least Bt3 million in lost excise tax, as petrol destined for export was exempted from tax. The seven officials could be charged with malfeasance and certifying false documents if they were found to be involved, the anonymous police source said.

Kitti yesterday chaired a meeting with representatives from the PACC, National Anti-Corruption Commission and Anti-Money Laundering Office, at the CCD headquarters to discuss actions against petrol tax evasion.

A nationwide crackdown on the practice was planned for September 29.

PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday called on people to exercise their voting rights, and expressed concerns about the “same old political issues” returning after the next general elections.

The premier brought up the issue while he was meeting locals yesterday before holding a mobile Cabinet meeting in Phetchabun province.

Mid conversation, Prayut suddenly started telling people to not get influenced by anyone telling them to abstain from casting their ballots, adding that this might be done to sway the vote.

“If this happens, we’ll return to the same old problems,” he said. “Democracy should not lead the country back to conflicts. It should also allow for institutions like the nation, monarch and religion.”

With the national election currently slated for February, Prayut said this was the time to move towards democracy.

“Over the past four years, many things have improved and if this continues, things will get even better,” he said. “The future government should take care of everybody – the majority and minorities.”

Meanwhile, in a rare move, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra took to Facebook yesterday to recall the 2006 military coup that ousted his government, which was when political conflicts began in the country. Today marks the 12th year since the coup.

“I want everyone to try to be neutral and see if Thailand has improved since then,” Thaksin’s post read.

The post went on say that Thailand had seen two coups that ousted two prime ministers who are siblings and the most popular premiers in Thai history. Some people have benefited from such changes, while others have experienced severe failure, the post read.

Many people had been maltreated due to their different political stance, landing in jail or facing intimidation, he wrote, asking if this was what Thais wanted to do to one another.

“Is it time yet for us to talk this through, or will we just keep fighting?” the ousted premier, who has lived in self-exile for more than a decade, asked. He added that the country had been hurt because of the conflict, when it should have been developed to keep pace with the fast-changing world.

Thaksin said he grieved about what had happened to his beloved country, apart from his personal loss of having to live away from his home and family. He also thanked his supporters who have remained faithful, adding he had forgiven those who had been unkind to him.

Voice TV director Prateep Kongsip said in a Facebook post yesterday that these changes had been made because some powers-that-be were dissatisfied with the political analysis. Both critics will be absent from the morning news show at least until October 17, he said.

Sakda Saelew, or “Sia Thairath”, who is known for his satirical anti-junta cartoons, will also be on a break, Prateep added.

“The powers-that-be are strongly dissatisfied with the analysis by both presenters as well as Sia’s cartoons,” the channel’s director wrote, refraining from naming the “powers-that-be”.

“If no changes are made, Voice TV will be in danger.”

This is not the first time that Voice TV, a news station linked to the Shinawatra camp and known for its anti-junta stance, has faced such intimidation. Their freedom has been tested several times since the 2014 coup.

Prior to the ban on Sirote and Virot, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission had ordered the station to stop broadcasting its nightly news programme for 15 days. It was taken off the air because the topic of discussion was the French Revolution.

However, Prateep said his station remained faithful to media freedom and democracy, and that its work has not unlawful.

“We are wrong only because we have irritated the powers that be,” he said. “But ultimately, we reserve the right to fight this in the justice system.”

Meanwhile, Sirote also wrote a long Facebook post on Sunday night, rejecting the allegation of being sarcastic or biased. “The false allegation shamelessly insults my media ethics and intellect,” the critic wrote, adding that he had closely scrutinised all governments, be it that of Abhisit Vejjajiva, Yingluck Shinawatra or Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Sirote also pointed out that the episode that had allegedly “dissatisfied” the powers-that-be did not even feature him, yet he was had ended up being the target. He said this evidenced the intolerance of different views and arbitrary treatment in the country.

“I’m sending out this message in the hope that all who are friendly with me and know about this, will try to end such treatment if possible,” he said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said village heads and kamnans have to help “prevent any political disorder from happening again”. He added that otherwise the government might be accused of plotting to postpone the election.

Prayut, who also heads the ruling junta National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), had earlier warned that an election would not take place unless there was peace in the country. That had prompted critics to accuse the junta of making excuses to put off the national vote.

With the law on MP elections being promulgated last week, the general election is now expected to be held sometime between February 24 and May 5. Certain government figures appeared to treat February 24 as the tentative election date.

The PM yesterday called for cooperation from local administrators in helping the government “build democracy” for the country.

“The election is coming soon. Kamnans and village heads must be careful and not allow chaos to happen again, or some people may again say that the government does not want the election to take place,” he said.

“Don’t listen to distorted information. Today, the military, police and authorities are working for you. We are building a castle, a home for us all. We are building democracy and making it strong. Devotion and sacrifice from all of us will strengthen this castle of democracy and prevent it from collapsing,” Prayut said.

He was addressing about 1,500 local residents and officials gathering at Rajabhat Loei University in the northeastern province. The PM and his entourage were on a visit to Loei province yesterday to inspect the progress of development projects.

Local community leaders, particularly village heads and kamnans (chiefs of village clusters), often act as political canvassers and prove effective in influencing decisions by rural voters at the ballot box.

The PM’s deputy, General Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also the defence minister, also sought cooperation from village heads and kamnans yesterday during his visit to Phetchabun province. Prawit said community leaders should be aware that election campaigning was still not allowed at this time. He reminded them that the law on MP elections would take effect only 90 days after its promulgation last Wednesday.

“The village heads and kamnans who are political canvassers must be careful,” he was quoted as saying by Defence Ministry spokesman Lt-General Kongcheep Tantrawanit.

Prawit was speaking to a gathering of officials from lower northeastern provinces at Phetchabun’s Provincial Hall. He instructed local officials to help maintain peace and order, as well as prevent political violence in the run-up to the election.

“There can be differences in political opinions but there must be no use of violence,” Prawit said, directing his instruction at provincial governors.

He also told district chiefs to call meetings with village heads and kamnans every month to inform them about “what the government has done for the people”, particularly the poor.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday called for a complete lifting of the junta’s political restrictions.

Abhisit, a former prime minister, said that the present political bans were in fact restricting the rights of citizens, rather than political parties. He explained that parties honestly seeking innocent support from voters have to keep in touch with electorates.

“The more you limit exchange of views [between parties and the electorate], the more you help political parties that are not looking for innocent support from the people. I want to ask the NCPO what kind of politics they want,” he said, referring to possible vote-buying to woo voter support.

After the junta issued an order to relax political restrictions last week, parties scheduled their general meetings from the latter half of this month until early next month.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was charged under the Computer Crime Act alongside two other members of the “Future Forward” party over a weekly broadcast on Facebook in June.

The show accused the junta of trying to intimidate rivals into aligning with it before next year’s election, Pannika Wanich, a spokeswoman for Future Forward, told AFP.

If convicted under the draconian law, the trio face hefty fines and up to five years in jail.

But the Future Forward party said it would continue its campaigning before its formal launch onto the political stage on October 1.

“We are not afraid. We will fight the case and continue our political activities,” Pannika said.

Last week the junta announced a partial easing of a ban on political activities which it imposed after toppling the civilian government in 2014.

Thanathorn’s legal woes come just months after he launched his political career, hoping to win votes among a public wearied by the 12-year power struggle between a pro-junta old guard and allies of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

He attracted some comparisons to other “outsider” politicians making waves around the globe, such as France’s Emmanuel Macron.

But analysts say the political novice has yet to make a serious case for his liberal party.

Under a junta-scripted constitution anyone convicted of a criminal offence is banned from running as a lawmaker.

The Pheu Thai party, which formed the government toppled in 2014, has yet to reveal who its leader will be ahead of the polls.

Ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra, who led that government, joined her brother Thaksin in self-exile last year just before a court found her guilty of criminal malfeasance during her time in office.

Noting that the green-light order also empowers Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to propose changes if he deems any activity objectionable, law professor Ekachai Chainuvati said the “principle of legal certainty” is absent.

“This means there’s no certainty. If they want to amend the order, they can,” he said. “There’s nothing certain about this. They can change everything again over the next three months.”

NCPO Order 13/2018, issued last Friday, relaxes the ban on political activity imposed four years ago. It allows political parties to hold meetings and begin preparing for the general election now ostensibly scheduled for February 24.

The easing had been highly anticipated because, for the first time since the NCPO seized power in a coup, the parties will be active again. Ekachai, however, sees only limited freedom being granted.

On the contrary, he said, even with a return to democratic rule possibly imminent, the junta decree dictates too meticulously what the parties can and cannot do. It should have lifted the ban unconditionally, he said.

Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, a former law professor who is now a key member of the pro-democracy Future Forward Party, offered a similar proposal to end the political suppression.

He commented on Facebook that the junta had done the political parties no favours with this strings-attached order. It was not helping to standardise democracy ahead of the election, nor helping return politics to normal, Piyabutr said.

‘Only an excuse’

He said every difficulty that the parties faced stemmed directly from the NCPO, not the parties themselves.

“The parties would have immediate relief only if the NCPO would rescind all measures against political freedom.”

The junta continues to insist that some restrictions on political activity must be maintained in the interest of peace, order and public security. The violent political upheavals that preceded the May 2014 coup helped justify the military’s intervention and its tight grip on society afterwards.

But pro-democracy activist Nuttaa Mahattana rejects the equating of political activity with unrest.

“Keeping the peace is only an excuse – we should ask what the real reason behind the ban is,” she said. “The way I see it, political activity is a form of communication, and when that communication is banned, we have to ask what the NCPO is afraid people will find out about.”

Nuttaa said such limitations on freedom no longer served the public interest, only the political ambition of individual junta figures. Until now, she pointed out, they’ve been the only ones with the power to communicate and campaign for support.

Friday’s order has also prompted questions about the political reforms the junta pledged to pursue.

The junta first required parties to conduct extensive voting among all their members to allow fair participation in choosing MP candidates. It now backs the established system, allowing them to name a committee of 11 members and party executives to choose the candidates, at least for the coming election.

As for greater participation by rank-and-file party members, that’s been forgotten in favour of internal meetings and discussion, but the selection panel is under no concrete obligation to take into account the opinions heard.

Alongkorn Ponlaboot, a one-time reformer appointed by the junta, expressed disappointment over the back-pedalling.

“It’s a shame the NCPO didn’t remain insistent about the primary voting, which is the key to political reform,” he said. “Since the Constitution took effect last year, all parties should have done something to meet the constitutional requirement regarding the primary voting. “But because of time constraints, this exemption is understandable.”

Alongkorn said, though, that regardless of the shift, if parties are determined to make changes, they should be able to carry out primary voting on their own.

“The reform’s success doesn’t come from any legislation, but rather their own political will,” he said.

Thanathorn, who is expected to be elected as the party leader once an assembly is held, posted a two-minute video clip on his Facebook wall, urging people to apply in join his party, with each member paying a Bt100 membership fee.

“Thais are now reaching a crucial crossroad,” he said.

“Will they choose to stay with fear and dictatorship power, allowing them to draw a line for us to walk for at least 20 more years to the direction unilaterally set by them?,” he asked.

“Or will Thais choose to have the people, who own the ruling mandate, to determine our own fate?”

He continued: “This is a new political culture that will wipe out the patronage system in Thai society. The membership fee of B100 is the fee for hiring me and the Future Forward team to take back democracy.

“The country needs us and Future Forward wants you,” Thanathorn said in the clip, which generated over 51,000 views by Saturday afternoon.

Thanathorn and Future Forward are seen as attracting the younger generations, who are well versed in using media to win support.

He said the party’s legal team would hold a meeting on Monday to prepare meeting agenda for the executive board to discuss.

Then, the party will hold its general assembly in early October to take all necessary actions to comply with the political parties law and get prepared to contest the election next year, Supachai added.