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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019662

Former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij, now leader of the Kla Party, is set to join the Chart Pattana Party as its economic team leader, it was announced on Friday.

At a joint press conference on Friday, Korn said that his party would not be merging with Chart Pattana as had been rumoured.

“Kla will still retain its status as a political party. Everyone in the party agrees to this coordination [between Korn and Chart Pattana],” Korn said.

Whether other politicians from the Kla Party would be moving along with him was a matter for the future, in accordance with the relevant legal steps, said Korn.

However, he avoided a question as to whether he had quit Kla to become a Chart Pattana member.

Korn was speaking at a press conference held at the Bangkok house of Chart Pattana Party chairman Suwat Liptapanlop.

The Constitution prohibits a merger of political parties with elected MPs during the term of the House of Representatives.

Chart Pattana, a coalition party, has four MPs while Kla Party was founded in June 2020, over a year after the 2019 general election.

Suwat confirmed on Friday that the press conference was not about a merger of the two parties. He said that Korn was invited to join Chart Pattana due to his strong economic background — having served as finance minister when the world economy was impacted by the US subprime mortgage crisis.

Suwat said he was convinced that as head of Chart Pattana’s economic team, Korn would be able to help save Thailand from the ongoing economic crisis.

He also said that Chart Pattana was ready to accept Korn and others from the Kla Party.

Korn will serve in an “important party position” that would allow him to tackle the economic crisis, Suwat said. However, it remains unclear if Korn will be a prime minister candidate of Chart Pattana in the next election.

Chart Pattana has called a meeting of party executives next week when Korn’s role and position in the party are expected to be discussed.

Published : September 02, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019661

General Prayut Chan-o-cha appeared confident after his legal team submitted its case on his tenure as prime minister, a source at Government House said on Friday.

The Constitutional Court accepted the opposition’s petition to rule on Prayut’s tenure expiry on August 24, also suspending him from duty and giving him 15 days to submit his defence.

Prayut’s legal team submitted the document to the court on Thursday (September 1).

The source said the 30-page document cites legal principles to identify the start date of Prayut’s tenure as prime minister. “The court did not reveal when the ruling will be given, and it could ask Prayut to provider further explanation on specific topics if needed,” the source said.

Under Article 158 of the 2017 Constitution, a prime minister cannot hold office for more than eight years in total, whether consecutively or not.

The start date for Prayut’s eight-year tenure is disputed.

Many insist his eight-year term started when Prayut first assumed office on August 24, 2014, following the military coup he led in May that year. This would mean his tenure expired last week on Wednesday.

Others say his tenure as PM began when the current Constitution came into force on April 6, 2017. A third group views that it should be counted from when Prayut assumed the premiership on June 9, 2019, following the general election in March that year.

Published : September 02, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019652

General Prayut Chan-o-cha has returned the Prime Minister’s vehicles to Government House as he has been suspended by the Constitutional Court from performing his duties as PM.

Prayut’s driver returned the Prime Minister’s car and three motorcade vehicles to Government House to prevent criticism.

Meanwhile, Prayut on Friday was visiting soldiers who are engaged in flood prevention in Ayutthaya province. He travelled in the Defence Ministry’s Toyota Land Cruiser.

The majority of Constitutional Court judges on August 24 voted to accept an opposition petition for deliberation on Prayut’s tenure as PM and suspended him from duty until they issue a ruling. Prayut took office on August 24, 2014, while the 2017 Constitution stipulates that a prime minister can serve for only eight years. Rival parties are divided on when the counting of the tenure should begin.

Prayut, as Defence Minister, travelled in his personal car to the Defence Ministry in Bangkok on August 26 to sign several documents for around 30 minutes.

Published : September 02, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019623

The Chart Pattana and Kla parties have announced a joint press conference on Friday, leading to speculation of a merger of the two parties.

Chart Pattana Party spokeswoman Yaowapa Boorapolchai and Kla Party spokesman Sanyakorn Singhaweratham sent a Line app message to reporters on Thursday afternoon that the two parties would hold a joint press conference at 10.30am on Friday.

The two spokespersons said in the message: “At 10.30am on September 2, Suwat Liptapanlop, Chart Pattana chairman, and Kla leader Korn Chatikavanij will jointly hold a political press conference at house No. 333 on Rajavithi Soi 20 in Bankok’s Dusit district.”

Sources from the two parties said they would announce solutions that the two parties had jointly agreed on for solving the country’s economic and political crises.

The sources said the joint press conference would be the formal start of political cooperation between the two parties for boosting the potential of both Chart Pattana and Kla at the next general election. The current House of Representatives is scheduled to finish its four-year term in March, after which a general election will be held.

A source from the Chart Pattana said the party’s MPs have not been informed about the joint press conference and the political “cooperation” and had not been told to attend the press conference. Only core leaders would attend the event, the source said.

Political observers expect the joint press conference to be the formal start for the two parties to work towards an eventual merger, which would have to be formally ratified by the two parties’ executive boards.

Earlier, Suwat told reporters that he was ready to join a joint press conference with the Kla and he was confident his party would win more House seats in the future.

Published : September 01, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019542

General Prayut Chan-o-cha is still in good morale and continues to work as the defence minister after he was suspended from his duties as the prime minister last week, Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda said on Tuesday.

“He’s doing his work as usual,” Anupong replied when reporters approached him before the weekly Cabinet meeting to ask him about Prayut.

“His morale is still okay,” Anupong replied when reporters asked how Prayut had been affected by the suspension.

Last Wednesday, the Constitutional Court accepted the petition of opposition MPs for deliberation as to whether Prayut’s tenure expired on August 24, when he finished eight years in office. The court suspended Prayut from the prime minister’s duties pending its ruling.

Prayut has avoided giving comments to reporters since his suspension.

He did not attend the weekly Cabinet meeting as defence minister in person on Tuesday but joined the meeting by video-conference.

He also avoided reporters when he inaugurated the defence exhibition at Muang Thong Thani on Monday.

Anupong, whose nickname is Big Pok, is one of the so-called “Three Por” generals who joined Prayut and caretaker prime minister and Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwat to seize power in May 2014. The three have been continuously holding posts in all Cabinets since the coup.

Published : August 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019538

The Cabinet on Tuesday amended regulations to allow acting Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan to approve national budget spending and reshuffles, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said.

Wissanu, the government’s legal expert, said ministers amended the regulations so Prawit could spend budget and approve transfers of senior officials without consulting Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has been suspended as PM.

Prayut was suspended from duties by the Constitutional Court last week pending its ruling on whether his eight-year tenure expired on August 24.

Wissanu said the amendments will be effective retroactively but did not empower Prawit as acting prime minister to dissolve the House of Representatives.

Prayut is not suspended from his post as defence minister though he failed to show up for Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, attending via video link instead.

Wissanu said he had no information on why Prayut had opted not to turn up but added that attending via video was not unusual.

He denied there was a vacuum in the country’s leadership, saying Prawit had taken over as acting PM once Prayut was suspended. He said he expected Prayut’s legal team to submit its argument to the Constitution Court soon to counter the opposition’s claim that his tenure ended last week.

He declined to give details of the argument but said the court typically allowed the defence 15 days to submit its case.

Published : August 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019534

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan on Tuesday ruled out a Cabinet reshuffle in the first meeting chaired by him as caretaker prime minister following the suspension of General Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Prawit was speaking to reporters while leaving Government House after chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.

Deputy PM Prawit took over as caretaker prime minister after the Constitutional Court suspended Prayut as prime minister pending a ruling on whether he had completed eight years in office.

Prayut did not attend the weekly Cabinet meeting, though he continues to function as defence minister, a portfolio he held even as PM. Government House officials had left a seat for the defence minister but it remained vacant during the meeting.

While chairing the Cabinet meeting, Prawit remained seated on his usual deputy prime minister’s seat, leaving Prayut’s normal PM’s seat vacant.

Asked whether he would reshuffle the Cabinet soon, Prawit replied “No reshuffle, I affirm”.

Last week, a group of southern MPs of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party had said they would call for a Cabinet reshuffle to demand the Agriculture and Cooperatives, and Commerce ministries back from coalition partner Democrat Party. The call prompted the Democrats to threaten to pull out of the coalition.

Asked to comment on the call of the southern MPs of his party, Prawit said: “You must ask them. I didn’t say it.”

“Why should I reshuffle Cabinet when we can still work,” Prawit said when asked again whether he would change the Cabinet line-up in the near future.

Prawit appeared in a good mood and was smiling as he stopped to answer reporters’ questions on his way to his official vehicle. Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin, Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn and Deputy Transport Minister Atirat Ratanasate accompanied Prawit to his vehicle.

Published : August 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019485

Thailand is not ready to hold a national election right now should the government dissolve Parliament, as the new “Organic Act on the Election of Members of Parliament” has not yet come into effect, a news source from the Election Commission (EC) said on Monday.

The EC source made the comment in reaction to opposition parties and several groups pressuring the government to dissolve the lower house after General Prayut Chan-o-cha was suspended last week from his duties as a prime minister by the Constitutional Court, pending its verdict on the expiry of his eight-year tenure in the post.

“The new ‘Organic Act on the Election of MPs’ will increase the number of constituency MPs from 350 to 400 and reduce the number of party-list MPs from 150 to 100,” said the source. 

“The new Act will also remove the requirement that all political parties must have a branch in the constituencies where they field MP candidates, while the candidate must also win the primary vote from party members.”

Since the new organic act has not yet been officially announced, the source said dissolution of Parliament at this point would mean the upcoming election will be held as per the organic act currently in effect. “Judging from current data of political parties, it is nearly impossible for all of them to establish required branches and organise primary votes in time for the election. The result will be messy,” it said.

“Some people are speculating that the EC could issue a temporary regulation or emergency decree for the national election, before the new organic act comes into effect. This move, however, is too risky as the country’s future is at stake,” said the source. “The best solution right now is to wait until the new organic act is officially announced.”

Published : August 29, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019475

General Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday made his first appearance at a public event in his capacity as defence minister since he was suspended from the prime minister’s duties.

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday suspended him from carrying out his duties as prime minister pending a ruling on his tenure in office.

Prayut presided over the opening ceremony of the Defence and Security 2022 exhibition at the Impact Challenger Hall in Muang Thong Thani.

He was accompanied by Deputy Defence Minister Chaicharn Changmongkol, General Warakiat Rattananont, the permanent secretary at the Defence Ministry, Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Somprasong Nilsamai and Police assistant commissioner-general Pol Lt-General Surachate Hakpal. There was tight security at the event.

The event was also attended by Thai and foreign senior military officers and defence envoys.

Prayut declined to talk to reporters who tried to ask him how he was doing since his suspension as PM by the Constitutional Court.

On Wednesday, the court voted unanimously to accept the opposition’s petition for deliberation on whether the PM’s maximum eight-year tenure, as stipulated by the Constitution, should be deemed to have ended on August 24. The court also voted 5:4 to suspend him from PM’s duties.

In his opening speech, Prayut thanked foreign ambassadors, envoys, chiefs of foreign armed forces, and defence industry operators for joining the defence technologies’ exhibition.

Prayut said the Defence and Security exhibition was among crucial defence technology fairs in Asia where armaments and defence technologies were on show.

Prayut said he would like to thank defence ministers, ambassadors and chiefs of armed forces of allied nations for taking part in the event. He also thanked weapons makers from abroad for joining the show.

Published : August 29, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019452

General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s legal team will cite two sections of the 2017 Constitution to support their argument that he has not reached his eight-year term limit as prime minister.

AGovernment House source said the defence team would cite sections 158 and 159 to counter the opposition’s claim that Prayut’s legal term came to an end on Tuesday (August 23).

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday voted unanimously to accept the opposition’s petition to rule on when Prayut’s term as PM started. The court also voted 5:4 to suspend him from prime ministerial duties until it delivers the ruling.

The petition said General Prayut’s tenure should be counted from August 24, 2014 when he became the prime minister after the coup he led in May that year.

The court is expected to issue its ruling before the end of next month.

According to the source, the defence team will send a written statement to the court arguing that a prime minister must be appointed by the House of Representatives as stipulated in sections 158 and 159. Section 158 requires that the PM be appointed by MPs while Section 159 requires MPs to select the prime minister from a list of candidates submitted by political parties when they register for a general election.

However, the opposition petition cites Section 264, a provisional clause stating that Cabinet ministers in power before the charter’s enactment in 2017 were legal under the charter. As a result, Prayut’s term should be counted from August 24, 2014, it said.

The defence team will counter that Section 264 only describes qualifications for Cabinet members. It will argue that sections 158 and 159 are not subordinate to Section 264, so their stipulation that a prime minister can only be appointed by the House of Representatives must be strictly enforced.

The defence team will state that Prayut’s term should end in 2027 because he was appointed as prime minister by the House under the 2017 Constitution in June 2019.

Published : August 28, 2022

By : THE NATION