This would be the fourth Cabinet reshuffle for the Prayut government in three years.

Prayut and his Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan on Wednesday abruptly cancelled their schedules at Government House amid reports that the premier was busy with the reshuffle.

After returning from the Asean Summit in Manila at 2am on Wednesday, Prayut went to work at Government House later that morning and called a meeting on education reform but cancelled his weekly Wednesday workout.

Prayut did not speak to the media.

The premier also cancelled his schedule today [Thursday] to chair a seminar being held by Thai media on Asean 50 and has asked Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai to represent him at the event.

A Government House source said Prayut was busy with the list as he wanted to finish it on Wednesday.

Prawit was not seen at Government House amid wide speculation that he might be removed as deputy PM.

Prawit was scheduled to chair a meeting to prepare for a Cabinet retreat in Pattani and Songkhla provinces later this month but asked his deputy minister General Udomdej Sitabutr to chair the meeting.

Prawit’s close aide said the deputy PM had gone abroad on personal work.

In the proposed Cabinet reshuffle, according to sources, Agriculture Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya would be shifted to the Labour Ministry to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of General Sirichai Distakul early this month. Chatchai’s current post would be filled by former permanent secretary and former agriculture minister Yukol Limlamthong.

Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin is among those who might be replaced. Reports said Ramkhamhaeng University rector Wuttisak Lapcharoensap would be appointed Education Minister.

Wuttisak said yesterday that he was not aware of such a development. Asked if he had been invited to join the Cabinet by the PM, he said, “The premier is abroad. I would comment when things are clear.”

It is likely that Police Chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda would be named Social and Human Development Minister.

Reports suggested that Chakthip, who is in the United States to attend a meeting with the FBI from November 13-19, had reportedly written his resignation from his police post, but not yet submitted it to Prayut as he wished to remain in the police post.

It has also been reported that Social and Human Development Minister Pol General Adul Saengsingkaew would be reshuffled to the post of deputy PM.

The reports also said that Energy Minister General Anantaporn Kanjanarat would be replaced by National Legislative Assembly member General Yodyuth Boonyathikarn, who has just resigned from his post as president of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand.

Early this month, Prayut had said he was considering a reshuffle and was thinking of reducing the number of military officers in the Cabinet to be replaced with civilians.

Prayut posed the six questions to the public in regard to future politics and elections. Among the six points, people were asked whether the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and prime minister had the right to support particular political parties, resulting in speculation that the junta planned to enter politics or even set up its own party.

The Interior Ministry is tasked to collect answers at Damrongtham centres nationwide.

Nakhon Ratchasima province had the highest number of respondents, 6783, followed by Sakon Nakhon, 3855, and Khon Kaen, 2,898.

The lowest turnouts were Phrae and Samut Sakhon, 14, Ranong, 15, and Mae Hong Son as well as Petchaburi, at 20 each.

Because of the ban, political parties are unable to begin making arrangements prescribed by law for the election due to be held late next year.

Meechai Ruchupan, head of the Constitution Drafting Commission and a member of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), floated the idea yesterday following growing concern that parties might not be able to meet the deadline should the restrictions remain.

Parties may first request that the Election Commission (EC) prolong the preparation period, he said. If that does not work out, an amendment could be the last resort.

If parties decide to exercise their right to amend the law, the EC would have to make a request to the government, Meechai said. That approach would be more appropriate than invoking Article 44, which grants the junta absolute powers under the interim charger, he said.

The organic law on political parties was enacted last month, so the countdown to the election has partly begun. Under the law, political parties are required, for instance, to make adjustments such as updating registration records and reporting them to the EC registrar within 90 days. Failing to comply with the stipulations could make them ineligible to field candidates in the election.

Meechai suggested that parties in the process of revising their records could reach out to members for updates using letters or the Internet. However, each member would have to provide his or her signature to guarantee the information was truthful.

‘Not a problem’

“I don’t know whether they can make it in time. We have to ask them. But if they can’t, they have to report [to relevant agencies] so the EC can fix it.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the NCPO was aware of the issue and it believed that related bodies would be able to handle the situation.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had made assurances that he would not let it hurt political parties’ rights, he said.

Pheu Thai Party yesterday submitted a letter to the NCPO at the public service centre near Government House, calling on the junta to relax the ban on political activities.

In the letter signed by the party’s acting leader, Pol Lt-General Viroj Pao-In, it said failure to lift the ban now that an organic law on political parties had been promulgated would damage the parties.

The law, setting out procedures which parties must follow within a set timeframe, came into effect five weeks ago, but the ruling junta has yet to lift its ban restricting their activities and preventing them from holding meetings.

The law requires procedures to be followed within 90 days of its promulgation – by early January. However, the junta last month refused to relax the ban until after the cremation of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The NCPO has recently indicated that it was mulling ways to lift the ban.

In a related development, speculation has heightened that Police Chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda would take a post at the Social and Human Development Ministry, as part of the fourth Cabinet reshuffle of the Prayut government.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Chakthip has reportedly written his resignation from his police post, but not yet submitted it to Prayut as he wishes to remain in the police post.

It has also been reported that Social and Human Development Minister Pol General Adul Saengsingkaew would be reshuffled to the post of Deputy PM, and that General Chatchai Sarikulya, the Agriculture Minister, would be shifted to a post at the Labour Ministry. Chatchai’s current post would be filled by former permanent secretary and minister Yukol Limlamthong.

The reports also said that Energy Minister Generl Anantaporn Kanjanarat would be replaced by General Yodyuth Boonyathikarn, which has just resigned from his post as president of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand.

Because of the ban, political parties are unable to begin making arrangements proscribed by law for the election due to be held late next year.

Meechai Ruchupan, head of the Constitution Drafting Commission and a member of the National Council for Peace and Order, floated the idea on Wednesday following growing concern that the parties may not be able to meet the deadline should the restrictions remain.

Parties may first opt to request that the Election Commission (EC) prolong the preparation period, he said. If that did not work out, an amendment could be the last resort.

If parties decided to exercise their right to amend the law, the EC would have to make a request to the government, Meechai explained. This approach was more appropriate than invoking Article 44, he said.

The organic law on political parties was enacted last month, so the countdown to the election has officially begun.

Under the law, political parties are required, for instance, to make adjustments such as updating registration records and report them to the registrar of the EC within 90 days. Failing to comply with the stipulations could make them ineligible to field candidates in the election.

Meechai suggested that parties in the process of cleaning up their records could reach out to their members for updates using letters or the Internet. However, each member would have to provide his or her signature to guarantee the information was truthful.

“I don’t know whether they can make it in time. We have to ask them. But if they can’t, they have to report [to relevant agencies] so the EC can fix it.”

Meanwhile, deputy Wissanu Krea-ngam said that the NCPO was well aware of the issue and it believed that related bodies would be able to handle the situation.

It was not a problem and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had assured everyone that he would not let it hurt the political parties’ rights, Wissanu said.

“I believe PM knows what to do. There’s no need to be worried now,” he said. “We know that if the parties could not comply with the law, it would affect them. Now, we will try to find a solution.”

Wissanu said a petition would be line with the normal process, but the charter actually stipulated that the EC could assign concerned agencies to perform the task.

Wissanu also rejected the notion that the EC was applying pressure to lift the ban on political gatherings by visiting Chartthai Pattana Party members on Wednesday, adding that there were no signs of pressure and the EC should solicit information from the parties.

He said he had not been consulted by the junta or Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha about the issue.

Thai Fisheries Association chairman Mongkol Sukcharoenkana led the group of fishermen to meet with Chatchai on Wednesday and show support for him on the eve of the Cabinet reshuffle.

Mongkol said the minister had made a good job of tackling IUU fishing, and changing the leader on this task during this period may disrupt the continuity of the efforts to improve Thai fisheries.

Chatchai greeted the group of fishermen and thanked them for their support. However, he said he did not like the fishermen to openly show their support for him like this, because it may be seen that they were trying to pressure the government to let him remain in the position. He said it would be up to the Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, to assign the right person to the right position.

He assured them that, even if he is assigned to a new position, he would not hesitate to lend a hand in any way he could to help tackle IUU fishing.

He said that during his three years and two months on Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister position, he had devoted himself to solving the problem.

“The process to solve IUU fishing has already progressed greatly, and fishing regulations to ensure sustainability are now being drafted to meet international standards,” Chatchai said.

“Meanwhile, an assessment committee from the European Union is already in Thailand to assess our fisheries improvement efforts. We will know the results next year, and if we pass the required fishing standards, the EU will remove the yellow flag on our country.”

In the letter signed by the party’s acting leader, Pol Lt General Viroj Pao-In, it said failure to lift the ban now that an organic law on political parties has been promulgated would cause the parties much damage.

The law, setting out procedures which parties must follow within a set timeframe, came into effect five weeks ago, but the ruling junta has yet to lift its ban restricting their activities and preventing them from holding meetings.

The law requires some procedures to be followed within 90 days of its promulgation – by early January. However, the junta last month refused to relax the ban until after the cremation of His Majesty King Bhumibol.

The NCPO has recently indicated that it was mulling ways to lift the ban.

Some observers have suggested that Article 44 of the interim charter could be invoked to prolong the period in which required procedures are to be initiated, but warn that doing so could further delay the next election, currently set vaguely for 2019.

Three main procedures were needed to pave the way for the elections, Wissanu said. They were: law reviews, the junta’s decision on degrees of elections, and the lifting of the ban on political activities.

Wissanu said locals elections were not necessarily linked to the national election, but if the junta decided to hold them, the ban on political activities would have to be lifted.

Among the six questions, people were asked whether the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and prime minister had the right to support particular political parties, resulting in speculation that the junta planned to enter politics or even set up its own party. Almost 20,000 people yesterday responded to Prayut’s questions, Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda said.

Anupong said 19,580 people had responded freely and not been persuaded to do so, as had been alleged by Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva. “We don’t have a policy to direct people to reply to the questions. Anyone doing this would be guilty,” Anupong said.

His remarks were echoed by Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who insisted that people had not been recruited to answer the prime minister’s questions. Abhisit on Monday said he had been told that people in Bangkok had been recruited to answer the questions and he was investigating the claim.

Monday was the first day that the government Dhamrongtham centres were receiving public responses.

However, the number of the people turning out on Monday was relatively low, which Prawit conceded by saying that it was just the first day. Prawit said Prayut only wanted to learn from people what they thought about the issues, not from politicians who have accused the prime minister of sidetracking the political process by asking the questions.

Prawit rejected the notion that the junta would follow the public’s opinion if people responded that it would be acceptable for the junta to set up a political party, adding that it was an issue to be decided in the future. However, he said the prime minister would not set up a party himself.

Government Spokesperson Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the prime minister had asked the questions because he would like people to consider the progress of ongoing projects, including reforms and the national strategy. He added that Prayut did not want to see those efforts go to waste after the present government steps down, so people had been invited to submit opinions about how the projects could be maintained.

Meanwhile, Prawit instructed fellow Cabinet members to use an “offensive strategy” in performing their duties, as there was an ongoing attempt to discredit government officials by the dissemination of false information. After Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Sansern said Prawit, who chaired the meeting, had ordered ministers to work in accordance with Prayut’s instructions as they had pledged to do. “There has been mudslinging, distortion and distribution of false information to discredit government officials. We admit that some [things that have been said] are true, but others are not,” Sansern said. Prawit also told ministers to explain their work to the public, Sansern added.

DEFIANT politicians from major political parties have opposed a junta proposal to bar any criticism of the regime during the campaign for the next election, saying criticism was a form of freedom of expression protected by the Constitution.

The comments came in response to National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) leader and Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan’s remarks that candidates in local elections would be asked to refrain from attacking the junta or otherwise incite conflict when the junta allows local elections.

Critics have expressed concern that the rule would also apply to the general election scheduled for next year.

Watana Muangsook, Pheu Thai Party’s former commerce minister, said the restriction was impermissible because it violated the Constitution.

“All Thai people have the right to expression. The junta can sue individuals for defamation but it has no right whatsoever to shut people’s mouths, unless this regime is bigger than the Constitution,” the former minister said.

Since the political activity ban had not been lifted despite the implementation of the political parties organic law and the Constitution, the NCPO had to answer why it was not following its “road map”, which was its own guideline that should be followed, Watana said.

Nipit Intrasombat, deputy leader of Democrat Party, said he also believed that the NCPO could not possibly ban people from speaking against the regime.

As a government funded by taxpayers, the NCPO could not just avoid public scrutiny, he said.

“If you are really banning people from criticising it [the NCPO], you should keep staying in power and not bother holding an election at all,” Nipit said. “That way, you could do whatever you want, including |prohibiting any criticism against yourselves.”

Attasit Pankaew, a political scientist at Thammasat University, said the NCPO should try to be more broad-minded in the general election.

At least politicians should be allowed to talk about public policies, which could involve comparing their proposals to the NCPO’s, he added.

Politicians must be able to give people choices, show their visions and point out differences in comparison with the NCPO, which has run the country for the past three to four years, he said.

If the NCPO cannot be broad-minded and allow free expression, the election will be questionable in terms of being free and fair, Attasit said.

In a related development, Prawit said yesterday the NCPO would decide when the local elections should take place. However, the matter had not yet been discussed and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had not mentioned it either, he said.

Prawit said that the NCPO still had to consider all the steps needed before lifting the ban on political parties’ activities.

Asked if the NCPO had concerns about the situation after the ban is lifted, Prawit said the NCPO would be certain that everything would be stable before it allowed the resumption of political activities.

Amendments needed

Meanwhile, Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva expressed concern yesterday that it could be problematic to allow local elections while maintaining the ban on political activity. In some constituencies, local elections involved political parties, he said.

Abhisit questioned whether continuing the ban would cause confusion over the extent that political parties could work as they would have to be active during the local elections.

He added that related laws would have to be amended in line with the new charter before the next elections.

Meechai Ruchupan, the chief charter drafter, also said it would take at least one or two months before local elections could be held to allow for the amendment of relevant laws.