Somchai told reporters he had written to the chairman of the selection committee late last week about his decision to withdraw his application.

He said his decision came after he was notified that he lacked a qualification to apply for the job. His past position as a vice-rector at Thammasat University did not qualify as a “primary executive position” – a requirement set by the EC.

Somchai said that he believed that this requirement was higher than that stipulated in the Election Commission Act. However, he decided not to bring his case to the Administrative Court as that would further delay the selection of the new EC secretary-general.

“People in power may not want me to work in the Election Commission’s Office. I am straightforward and often criticise whatever is not right, with no fear or reluctance,” Somchai said.

“I don’t want to put the selection committee and the remaining four election commissioners in a difficult position. So, my withdrawal should be the best way out in this situation.”

In March, Somchai was removed as an EC member at the order of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who invoked his special powers as head of the ruling junta, the National Council for Peace and Order. The removal order cited Somchai’s “inappropriate comments” deemed to have confused the public about election schedules.

Earlier, Somchai had opted to remain as an election commissioner after announcing his intention to stand as a candidate for the new position of EC secretary-general.

In the song issued a few days before Songkran, the junta chief who enjoys penning lyrics pledges to work hard for the country no matter how hard his critics gnash at him.

“Every day I’m tired,” sings the soldier who was recruited to handle the vocals, “but I keep it all inside, because my heart tells me to work for the nation.”

This is the sixth of Prayut’s compositions since he led the military coup in May 2014. “Fight for the Nation” seeks to capitalise on the massive success of the TV soap opera “Buppesanivas” (“Love Destiny”), whose theme song it resembles, and in fact composer Wichien Tantipimonpan arranged both.

There are also similarities to Prayut’s previous releases, “Returning Happiness to the People”, “Because You’re Thailand”, “Hope and Faith”, “Bridge” and “Diamond Heart”, in that all share a theme of fostering national unity. The general is fond of portraying himself as a “superhero” who’s ready to resolve the nation’s conflicts.

The music critics have not been kind.

The video version of the last tune, “Diamond Heart”, was first shown on Army-run Channel 5 on February 9. As of its updating last week, 6,752 of the 425,000-plus viewers had clicked on the upward-pointing thumb, but nearly 45,900 didn’t care for it. The rest were presumably too scared to vote, or too wise. “Fight for the Nation” appeared on April 9 and, by the time it was updated on April 20, it had drawn 31,334 views, along with 224 likes and 1,256 dislikes.

Assistant Professor Pandit Chanrochanakit, deputy dean of political science at Chulalongkorn University, said it’s normal for national leaders to seek out popular ways of communicating with the public, citing US President Donald Trump’s preference for Twitter.

But Prayut’s songs are “state propaganda”, Dr Pandit told The Sunday Nation.

“Each song has had a specific message to communicate at a particular time. The government-run TV pool airs the messages daily, forcing the audience to hear his propaganda, and that diminishes our freedom. People with more liberal attitudes just turn it off and turn to alternative channels or the social media, where there are young activists performing anti-junta songs.”

Dr Thanom Chapakdee, a lecturer with Srinakharinwirot University’s Art and Culture Faculty, said Prayut uses culture as a form of “soft power” to promote nationalism in conservative ways, like dressing Thai or singing pop songs.

Overt political activity is just now resuming after being banned since the 2014 coup, but arts-related socio-political activism has steadily spread both online and off. Art happenings, posters and music concerts have given voice to campaigners pressing for a return to democracy.

In some cases the authorities have reacted, arresting demonstrators outside the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Anti-junta artists began adopting “guerrilla” tactics to get their messages out.

Faiyen, a Thai pro-red shirt band living in exile, have released several controversial songs on YouTube and the Thairev Channel online, while the rapper known as Liberate P finds his own ways of promoting democratic ideals.

Bangkok exteriors bear the graffiti of an artist named Headache Stencil that mocks Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan about his collection of |luxury wristwatches.

Headache Stencil earns harassment headaches from the junta and his creations are scrubbed away, while others have been detained for speaking out. Faiyen have fled to a neighbouring country for safety’s sake. At Bangkok’s Ver Gallery last year, soldiers carried off the artwork of Harit Srikhao, which contrasted images of the bloody 2010 crackdown on protesters with pictures of everyday life. “My art reflects the truth – corruption, the loss of freedom under the junta,” Headache Stencil told The Sunday Nation. “It’s the artist’s most important role to mirror society’s illnesses and tell the world what Thailand is now facing.”

Another outspoken artist-activist, Vasan Sithiket, scoffs at Prayut’s musical wooing of the public. “Singing songs can’t solve the country’s problem,” he said. “While the junta leader sings his propaganda, we voice the suffering of the people through our art. And the voices will grow louder because there are more and more artists echoing criticism about what the junta has done.”

The military has seized power 12 times since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932. Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat staged a coup in 1957 and was prime minister until his death in 1963. General Prayut has been in |power almost four years, the second-longest term of any coup leader.

Prayut’s first song as PM, “Returning Happiness to the People”, was designed to promote better relations between the military and the people after the coup. It becomes ironic in retrospect, with the election continuously postponed in the interim and now scheduled for February.

“A song is only a tool for communicating with the people – it doesn’t resolve the country’s conflict,” commented Associate Professor Pandit, “An election is the key to that problem.”

The report, released on Friday local time in Washington DC, said that numerous National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) decrees limiting civil liberties remained in effect during the year. NCPO Order No 3/2015, which replaced martial law in March 2015, grants the military government sweeping power to curb “acts deemed harmful to national peace and stability”, it said.

Political prisoners and detainees were highlighted in the report, which noted that the NCPO routinely detained those who expressed political views. The report said that, as of August, the Department of Corrections had reported 135 persons were detained or imprisoned in the country under lese majeste laws. Human rights groups have claimed that the prosecutions and convictions of several lese majeste offenders were politically motivated. Police arrested student activist Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpattararaksa in December 2016 for sharing on Facebook a link to a Thai-language BBC profile of the new monarch that allegedly contained defamatory information. In addition to limitations on civil liberties imposed by the NCPO, other significant human rights issues included: excessive use of force by government security forces, including harassing or abusing criminal suspects, detainees and prisoners; arbitrary arrests and detention by government authorities; abuses by government security forces confronting the continuing ethnic Malay-Muslim insurgency in the southernmost provinces; corruption; sexual exploitation of children; and human trafficking.

The report said that while the authorities had taken steps to investigate and punish officials who abused human rights, official impunity continued to be a problem, especially in the southernmost provinces.

The report detailed many cases of disappearance in different contexts, such as that of Pholachi “Billy” Rakchongcharoen, a prominent Karen human rights defender missing since 2014, and activist Withipong “Koh Tee” Kodthammakul.

Prayut said he was well aware of the concerns but urged the public to open their minds to accept good benefits from the collaboration, Government spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday. Alibaba Group has committed to invest a total of Bt11 billion in Thailand in a move that Prayut said could benefit the country’s small farmers and rural enterprises due to the firm’s expertise in diverse technology.

Jack Ma, Alibaba’s co-founder and executive chairman, and Thai authorities on Thursday signed four memorandums of understanding (MoUs), marking the start of Alibaba’s significant investment in Thailand’s much-heralded Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) as well as a related “Smart City” project. Other signed agreements involved tourism promotion, digital economy and human resource development programmes.

As part of the collaboration, Alibaba and the Thai Commerce Ministry launched the first official Thai rice flagship store on T-mall, the world’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers which has access to over 1.4 billion Chinese consumers, besides driving the sale of popular Thai fruits into China.

E-commerce expert Pawoot Pongvitayapanu yesterday welcomed Alibaba’s investment in Thailand but he also suggested that Thai authorities and entrepreneurs adjust their business strategy.

“Thai retail business will totally fall into the hands of foreign businesspeople in the next five to 10 years with huge foreign investments and connectivity to the world via the gradual growth of the Internet,” said Pawoot, who is president of the Thai E-commerce Association, on his Facebook page.

Hence, Thai entrepreneurs and business must adjust themselves to online and expand their businesses to global market, he said.

“You [Thai entrepreneurs] should remind that we are no longer competing with our compatriots,” he said.

As for the government, he said it should push more export of Thai goods to China and delay importing from China through creative means. He added that the government should also find experts on online trade to systematically push for that kind of business.

In response to criticism, Sansern yesterday said the PM had ordered the economic team to balance economic competition.

“While carefully considering the appropriation of benefits for foreign investors, we have to protect Thai investors and SMEs as well,” the government spokesman said.

The premier also suggested that Thai business owners adapt themselves to cope with the competition, viewing it as a challenge rather than an obstacle, Sansern said.

Its present main goal, many observers and politicians agree, appears to be ensuring that General Prayut Chan-o-cha comes back as head of government after the next election, which he promised would take place “no later than” February next year.

In attempting to regain political control after the election, the junta may want to continue with its policies and projects that are still incomplete.

There are two main “formulas” that could help General Prayut come back as prime minister.

First, he could return as an outsider in a second round of parliamentary voting to select the prime minister if the 500-member House of Representatives fails to reach an agreement among the political party candidates. This way, he would need support from all of the 250 junta-appointed senators plus as many MPs as possible, at least 125. Support from half of both Houses – 375 votes – is required.

Another option is for Prayut to become the prime ministerial candidate for a particular political party. This way, he could be selected as PM in the first round of voting in the Lower House if he gets enough support. However, that party would have to win at least 25 House seats in order to be eligible to nominate a candidate for prime minister.

For the junta, the second one is a “safer” option, as it is possible that the major political parties – Pheu Thai and Democrat – will join forces to try to prevent a second round of voting to select the PM. Whichever way they choose, the junta will need support from politicians. Recent moves by Prayut and other junta figures have indicated that they are extending the hands of friendship to different groups of politicians who collectively have the potential to “make their dream come true”.

Over the past months, the junta leader has met leaders of those political parties and factions on different occasions. Government actions have been taken to benefit those groups, including state funding being injected into their areas of interest and their people being appointed to government jobs. Critics view these moves as “deposits” in exchange for future favours.

At least eight political factions and small and medium-sized parties have enjoyed “special”, cosy ties with the junta. They are the Sasomsap faction in Pheu Thai Party, the Wang Nam Yom and Baan Rim Nam groups, another group led by former kingmaker Suthep Thaugsuban, as well as Chart Thai Pattana, Phalang Chon, Bhum Jai Thai and Chart Pattana parties. All four parties have a long history of always being coalition-government partners. Those factions and parties are dominant in their local areas or regions, each winning from fewer than 10 to a few dozen House seats in past elections. Yet, together they could easily win more than 100 House seats and would prove helpful to Prayut’s premiership bid – particularly if they join forces with a new political party that appoints the junta leader as its PM candidate.

Preparations are under way to set up that particular party, which is expected to be led by key members of the government’s economic team, including Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana, and Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong.

Stithorn Thananithichot, a senior researcher at King Prajadhipok’s Institute, said the junta would need voter support when contesting the election, so it would have to rely on politicians who already have an established support base.

He viewed the recent political appointments as a “good sign” that the election is drawing near.

“It is clear that General Prayut is moving towards the election. Those politicians are going to help the NCPO government with election matters,” the researcher said.

Prayut admitted that the past week’s appointment of Phalang Chon leader Sontaya Kunplome as his adviser was to help him with political matters. Critics expect more similar “political rewards” in the future.

The law prohibits Cabinet members from attempting to boost their support with budget spending that may damage the economy.

The law adds more difficulties to the already-troubled party policy formulation, they said.

The State Financial and Fiscal Discipline Act of 2018 requires that members of the Cabinet strictly comply with financial and fiscal disciplines of the state.

Article 9 of the law states that in preparing annual state budgets, managing the country’s monetary and fiscal affairs, and creating public debt, Cabinet members have to carefully take into consideration such factors as the benefit to the country and the people, worthiness, financial burden, risks and possible damage to state finances.

“The Cabinet shall not run the state’s affairs with a goal of creating political popularity that may cause damage to the country’s economy and people in the long run,” the clause states.

The new law requires that in preparing annual budget bills, the Cabinet must show the sources of revenues and estimated revenues, expected outcome or output from payments, and conformity with national development plans.

Published in the Royal Gazette on Thursday, the new legislation is required by the Constitution, which has been in effect since April last year.

The new law drew mixed reactions. One observer urged the military government to look at its current policy of cash handout programmes to see whether they violate the law.

Wirat Kalayasiri, a member of Democrat Party, said that with the new Constitution, parties already have to strictly follow the 20-year national strategy. That made it difficult for parties to create their own policies to respond to voters’ demands.

The new legislation made the situation more difficult than it already was, Wirat said.

Nikorn Chamnong from Chart Thai Pattana Party said that the law may solve one problem of populism but it also created another.

“It is true that populist policies are not healthy. But we cannot deny that this legislation will also complicate policy formulation,” he said. “The most worrisome part about it is who will tell which policy is populist or not. What’s the definition exactly? Will we have to take the matter to the court if we cannot reach an agreement?”

However, government officials agreed with the junta’s move. The law has been pushed for many years by the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office, said Soraphol Tulayasathien, the Finance Ministry’s director of Economic Stability Analysis Division at the Fiscal Policy Office.

Previously, fiscal discipline was a set of guidelines stipulating public debt should be capped at no more than 60 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Now it is upgraded to a legislation.

Under the new legislation, the committee chaired by Prayut will decide what economic policy would be defined as “populist policy” that could have a serious negative impact on government finances.

The law also requires that the government lay out a midterm budget or a three to five-year budget plan, along with an annual budget formation, said Soraphol.

Political scientist Somchai Pakkapaswiwat said that the new law’s interpretation will depend on the discretionary power of the committee and its interpretation of what is or is not populist policy.

He said he preferred that parliament scrutinises the government’s spending plan or there should be an independent budgetary organisation, such as a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in the United States, that looks at the government budget.

Meanwhile, Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, a former Finance Minister supported the law but said the government should also look at policies which may run counter the law, such as cash handouts to the 11.4 million poor people under the welfare card programme.

Since the 1997 financial crisis, the Thai government has run fiscal deficits almost every year to boost the economy, which has been affected by the country’s declining competitiveness and political instability.

Over-spending to boost political support, notably from voters in rural areas, which was done by governments under Thaksin Shinawatra and his associates, was deemed politically incorrect.

The military government plans to spend Bt3 trillion for the 2019 fiscal year starting this October and plans to borrow Bt 445 billion to finance the budget deficit, estimated to be equivalent to 2.6 per cent of GDP. It also expects to have a current account surplus of 6.1 per cent of GDP due to an increase in exports and tourism.

NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith yesterday said the current board will consider at its meeting next Wednesday if it should go ahead with the auction of the 1800MHz and 900MHz licences as planned. It will also consider the draft rules to compensate the state spectrum holders if the NBTC reclaims their spectra and puts them up for auction.

Earlier, the board declined to consider whether to proceed with the auction of 1800MHz and 900MHz licences, pending the results of the selection of new commissioners on Thursday.

The six-year term of the current commissioners ended on October 7 last year, but the new NBTC law allowed them to continue in the same capacity until they were replaced. The Council of State has replied to the watchdog that it can continue to perform its duties.

In a stunning development on Thursday at the NLA’s closed-door session, the majority of NLA members rejected the candidates on the grounds that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was not happy with the list.

An NLA member was heard saying during a whip meeting that the list must be rejected as the PM was dissatisfied with many of the candidates. The audio clip was leaked on social media yesterday.

NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said yesterday that the NLA had already set up a panel to investigate the leak.

“I understand the recorded voice is not from an NLA whip meeting since the panel session on April 18 was not about the NBTC candidates,” he said.

Prayut said it was the NLA members’ judgement to consider the matter. He did not issue any instructions to them on the matter.

In another related development, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday he would propose all the suggestions of terrestrial digital TV licence holders for the junta on April 24 to make a final decision on whether it wants to step in and ease their financial burden.

Wissanu yesterday convened what he called a meeting of a group of “minority licence holders” – financially strong licence holders – to listen to their opinions as part of the government’s continued efforts to seek ways to ease their burden.

Over the past few months, Wissanu has met with representatives of financially weak digital TV broadcasters on their plea to the junta to invoke Article 44 of the interim charter and ease their burden this month, as they are due to pay the fifth instalment of the upfront licence fee next month.

There is no need for the junta to hurry to make any decision on the requests of the two holders of 900MHz telecom licences – Advanced Wireless Network (AWN) and TrueMove H Universal Communication (TUC) – to ease their upfront fee payment schedule, as more details need to be considered, he said.

According to the proposal by digital TV licence holders, the junta has been urged to invoke its special power under Article 44 to allow suspension of the remaining upfront licence fee for three years, starting from next month. The rental fee of broadcasting networks should also be cut by half for two years.

They have also proposed that they be allowed to sell their licences to other companies.

NBTC rules currently prevent licence holders from selling their licence to other parties.

AWN and TUC proposed to the junta last year that Article 44 be invoked to allow them to divide the final instalments of the 900MHz spectrum licence upfront fee into seven tranches. AWN and TUC are scheduled to pay hefty final instalments of Bt59.574 billion and Bt60.218 billion, respectively, in 2020.

The junta had consulted the NBTC on the request of the two operators. The NBTC recommended that they be allowed to split the final instalment payment into five tranches and that they pay an interest rate of 1.5 per cent, based on the Bank of Thailand’s policy rate.

But the next challenge for the party is getting permission from the ruling junta, to whom they have publicly declared opposition, allowing them to hold a meeting formally kick-starting its political life.

“I don’t expect any problem ahead. Founding a party is the people’s fundamental right,” said Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, one of party’s key founders and former law lecturer. “The EC is only assigned to approve our requesting documents, not deciding whether we can found a party or not.”

Piyabutr said the party has prepared everything for a meeting set for May 27, at which they are planning to collect Bt1 million in seeding fund, gain at least 500 members and elect the party’s board executive as required under the organic law on political parties.

Those tasks, also as required by that law, must be completed by all parties within 180 days after they filed a party-founding request to the EC.

Failing to do so would prevent the party from legal recognition.

The Future Forward Party now has over four months to complete those tasks, since they filed their request on March 15.

But those steps can proceed only if the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) approves their first meeting as required under NCPO order No 53/2017, which exempts new parties from the NCPO’s political gathering ban but only on case-by-case basis.

“But it’s not only the first meeting that we should be allowed to hold,” Piyabutr said. “There would be many things to prepare ahead of the election, such as campaigning and the primary voting procedure.

“The NCPO always encourages new parties in the political arena. There is no reason for them to hinder us new-born parties,” he said. “And not all new parties come to support the NCPO.”

Piyabutr and another key co-founder of the party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, also filed a letter to the EC on April 9 that asked for an update on the approval process, along with a request for the NCPO to revoke all orders that obstruct political movements.

Thanathorn, meanwhile, added that he supported some politicians who have agreed to work with the junta government. “This will clarify their stances for the public about whether they support the NCPO or democracy,” the tycoon said.

“Parties should also more clearly declare whether they support an ‘outsider’ PM and also the NCPO’s post-election power,” Piyabutr added.

Four other parties in addition to Future Forward, have recently received approval to prepare for registration, said EC acting secretary-general Jarungwit Phumma. Of the 99 parties seeking the registration, 20 parties have so far been approved, he said.

The status would be fully confirmed only after the party has collected the Bt1 million membership fee as a capital fund and gained at least 500 members within 180 days, according to the organic law governing political parties.

The Future Forward Party, led by billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, wrote on its Facebook page on Friday that it only had to wait for the permission from the National Council for Peace and Order in order to hold its first meeting scheduled for May 27.

The party said it invited every supporter interested in joining as well as towards the new future with it.

Besides Future Forward, EC acting secretary general Jarungwit Phumma said four other parties had recently received the same approval.

Of all the 99 parties seeking the registration, 20 parties had already been approved, he said.

CHINESE e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has committed to invest a combined Bt11 billion in Thailand in a move that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said could benefit the country’s small farmers and rural enterprises due to the firm’s expertise in diverse technology.

“Jack Ma [Alibaba’s co-founder and executive chairman] told me he does not solely look for profits because [Alibaba] already has enough,” Prayut said after his meeting with the Chinese tycoon. “So he aims to help low-income farmers and other people using digital technology to boost their competitiveness on online market platforms.”

Ma, who was on in Bangkok yesterday, also met with deputy premier Somkid Jatusripitak at Government House before signing four memorandums of understanding (MoUs), marking the start of Alibaba’s significant investment in Thailand’s much-heralded Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) as well as a related “Smart City” project. Other signed agreements involved tourism promotion, digital economy and human resource development programmes.

Ma has been to Thailand several times and in 2016, he also met with Prayut during the G20 summit in China’s Hangzhou city. However, the Chinese e-commerce giant made its first investment within Asean in Malaysia, raising questions whether the Prayut government’s “Thailand 4.0” initiative was compelling enough to attract Alibaba.

Prayut said he personally asked Ma to help promote Thai agricultural products, particularly palm oil, rice and para rubber as well as cooperatives, community enterprises and modern farming using digital and related technologies and Alibaba’s expertise in e-commerce and related fields.

“[Alibaba] also runs schools for business and e-commerce development that can help Thai SMEs and rural entrepreneurs,” Prayut said, adding there were mutual benefits from the cooperation with Alibaba.

The Thai government’s policy is to facilitate trade and investment, turning Thailand into an investment hub, according to the prime minister.

In response, Ma said that Alibaba focuses a lot on Asia and the Internet is a great opportunity in Asia. The collaboration with Thailand included “Go to China”, meaning bringing Thai local farm goods, such as rice and fruits to the huge Chinese market and “Go to Thailand” meaning bringing more Chinese tourists to Thailand.

“Today’s MoUs are the initial phase of our long-term commitment to be a strategic partner with this country. Our strategy is a global vision, to partner with the countries having the same belief in the future, technology, e-commerce, SMEs, and young people,” said Ma.

Commerce Minister Sonthirat Sonthijirawong said the ministry would drive the digital economy by promoting e-commerce platforms to allow Thai farmers and other producers to sell to China, citing the Thai Rice Flagship Store on Alibaba’s Tmall.com as an example. Other Thai products will be on sale on Tmall.com, China’s largest online marketplace which reaches more than 1.4 billion consumers.

In addition, the Industry Ministry will work with the Chinese e-commerce giant to use the Alibaba Business School as a platform for training Thai entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, Saowaruj Rattanakhamfu, a researcher who conducted a study of the EEC project, said that Ma’s investment in the EEC could also draw other foreign investors to the region but the challenge is how Thailand could take advantage of investment in ICT.

She expressed concern about the skills of the local ICT workforce. “There are about 170 education institutions that teach 430 ICT-related curriculums, but the graduates are not qualified enough for the jobs or do not meet industry demands,” she said. “So far we do not know which university has a reputation in what specific field of ICT,” she said. One problem is that technology is changing fast.

Learning from the experience of other countries, the Thai government, universities and private companies, may jointly organise six months re-training for those graduates to hone their skills, particularly in disruptive technology such as artificial intelligence, she said.

The government could also relax conditions for smart visas offered to specialists who earn a monthly salary of Bt200,000 to stay four years in Thailand. For example, those have an income of Bt100,000 could also get a smart visa but only for a three-year stay, she said.

Prinya Hom -anek, president and chief executive officer at ACIS Professional Centre Co, who is in the information security business, said the local IT industry feels the government has preferred giant foreign investors, such as Ma ,but Thai authorities have not yet created a conducive investment-friendly environment for local technological start-ups. New, friendly regulations such as those related to fundraising via initial coin offering have not yet been put in place. Thai IT entrepreneurs still prefer to register their companies in Singapore where it is much easier to do IT-related businesses, he said.