He said the new political party law allowed the Election Commission to extend the statutory preparation period by a further 180 days by issuing an announcement to that effect in the event of an emergency.

Another option is for the EC to shorten the period of time for political campaigning ahead of a national poll.

“I don’t believe that they [political parties] would have much trouble [getting things organised in time]. They might just feel worried, that’s it,” Meechai added.

The deadline for the appeals was on Friday, 30 days after the court ruled against Yingluck, who was accused of failing to prevent corruption in her government’s rice-pledging scheme.

Surasak Treerattrakul, the office’s inspector-general, acting as a vice chair of the panel responsible for the case, said Attorney General Khemchai Chutiwong had made an official remark about the case on Friday. Khemchai had said that the court ruling had followed the office’s indictment, so the office did not file an appeal.

Surasak said that, as the case is now over, it would follow legal procedures to ensure that the convicted person was found and served her penalty.

He added that a statue of limitations would not apply, in line with the new law on legal procedures against politicians. This meant that, if a person wished to flee, they would have to be on the run for their entire life.

Kittinan Tatpramuk, director-general of the AGO’s investigation department, said the AGO had not separated charges against Yingluck, but wrapped them up into one count for failing to prevent corruption in the rice-pledging scheme.

Although the court ruled that she had failed to prevent corruption in rice distribution in government-to-government deals, the office viewed that this was part of the one count. As the court had already delivered the ruling accordingly, the office decided not to file an appeal, said Kittinan.

As a result, Yingluck will no longer be able to travel using the Thai passports.

Thai embassies across the world have been advised of the revocation, Busadee added.

Yingluck’s four Thai passports, two general and two diplomatic, were revoked following a police request as part of their pursuit of the former premier.

It is not known if she holds any foreign passports.

Yingluck has been wanted since August 25, when she failed to show up to hear a final ruling regarding her negligence on the rice-pledging scheme.

She was sentenced in absentia a month later to five years in jail.

Yingluck has not been heard of or seen since she fled Thailand.

The deadline for her appeal expired last week. As a result, the case, including the sentence, is considered final.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday said the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the governing arm of the military junta, had not yet convened to discuss the matter.

“The Royal Cremation Ceremony has just finished and we have not convened yet. Why do you have to demand that now?” Prawit said. “We have to consider it first. All this time there has been activism in many sectors that still stir up disorder.”

The clock is ticking for politicians to complete arrangements prescribed by the new organic law on political parties that came into effect early this month.

Political parties must update their registration books within 90 days and collect annual membership fees within 180 days. Failure to comply with the new instructions could make them ineligible to field candidates in the next election.

In the past couple of days, politicians have publicly urged the NCPO to relax the ban on political activities now that the mourning period has ended.

When the organic law came into effect in the first week of October, the NCPO said the removal of the ban had to wait at least until the cremation ceremony was completed.

Watana Muangsook, a leading member of Pheu Thai Party, wrote on Facebook yesterday, slamming the junta for having no shame in saying it had not convened to discuss the matter.

The former commerce minister said that he would not call for anything because the power belonged to the people and the NCPO would not be able to resist it.

Describing the junta administration as “inefficient”, Watana said it should stop playing for time and hurry to lift the ban to move the country towards democracy.

Sathit Pitutaecha, deputy leader of the Democrat Party, said he believed it was now time to get back to the “road map to democracy” towards an election. His party, he said, was preparing to complete the arrangements as required by the new law.

Meanwhile, Constitution Drafting Commission chairman Meechai Ruchuphan said yesterday that due to the total lack of applications for membership on the new Election Commission (EC), the applicant committee might choose to approach specific, qualified people to fill the new board.

The application period opened on October 19 and will close on November 10. No one has applied so far.

Meechai said it is still possible that candidates could come forward before the application closing date. “We still have time to wait and see,” he said.

THE HUNT for former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has hit a snag as Interpol has not yet responded to a Thai police request regarding her whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Ministry has revoked her passports.

The ministry confirmed yesterday that Yingluck only possessed four Thai passports.

The ministry has also advised its embassies across the world that Yingluck’s passports have been revoked.

Deputy National Police |Chief Pol-General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said police were pursuing Yingluck, who was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with her government’s rice-pledging scheme, but they had not yet received confirmation from Interpol after seeking its cooperation.

Thai police early this month requested that Interpol issue a blue notice for Yingluck in order to locate her, before applying for a red notice, which would require police in other countries to arrest her.

An Interpol blue notice is a request for help to collect information regarding a suspect’s whereabouts or related criminal activities, while a red notice functions as an international arrest warrant.

Interpol then contacted Thai police asking for further information in regard to the blue notice request, but no further communication has occurred since.

Srivara added that police did not have any information regarding Yingluck’s reported attempt to seek political asylum in the United Kingdom.

However, the deputy police chief said the Foreign Affairs Ministry had revoked four of the former prime minister’s passports. Two were ordinary passports, and the others were diplomatic.

The Nation contacted Pol Maj-General Udon Yomcharoen, who oversees police foreign affairs, to ask whether Thai police could continue pursuing her if she were granted political asylum, but Udon declined to comment.

Yingluck’s deadline for an appeal passed on Friday without any action by her. The prosecutor also refrained from filing an appeal, meaning the case against her is technically finished with her fugitive status apparently permanent.

Yingluck, who is reportedly in the United Kingdom, was sentenced for negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government’s rice-pledging scheme before being toppled by the 2014 coup.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders convicted her in absentia and announced her prison sentence on September 27.

The law allowed her to appeal within 30 days of the verdict, but she would have had to file the appeal in person from inside Thailand.

“We have not yet received a message from her, therefore we did not make any request to the court to extend the period of appeal,” her lawyer Norawit Lalang said on Sunday.

“As we did not make an appeal, the case is technically finalised.”

“There is no law prohibiting officers, or even politicians, from appointing their family members to positions,” he insisted. “I assure you this has no hidden benefit.”

Meechai has come under fire since his daughter, Mayura Chuangchote, was appointed as his deputy secretary-general by the NCPO last Wednesday, along with other 33 officers.

Following a regulation set by the NCPO themselves, Mayura will receive a monthly salary of Bt47,500, on a par with the prime minister’s deputy secretary-general.

The 79-year-old lawyer has led the drafting process for the 2017 charter and several organic laws, including the law governing criminal procedures against political office holders, which is known for its harsh punishment of corrupt politicians.

Meechai defended his position on Monday by arguing that he, a non-civil servant, was not authorised to ask other officers to take up the post of his deputy secretary-general, and that he needed therefore to ask his daughter to do so.

The NCPO-related job also requires a high degree of trust and confidentiality that his own offspring should be best fitted to provide, he added.

Representatives of the Confederation of Thai Journalists (CTJ), led by its president Thepchai Yong, on Monday met Deputy Prime Minister Gen Tanasak Patimapragorn and representatives from the Tourism and Sports Ministry and Culture Ministry at Government House.

The biennial conference, to be held from January 24 to 28 next year, aims to enhance cooperation among Asean media and highlight the role of Thai media in the region, said Thepchai.

The CAJ, which celebrates its 42nd anniversary next year, will also focus on supporting the freedoms of regional media.

Tanasak affirmed that the government will support the event.

The CTJ will receive the chairmanship of the conference from the Vietnam Journalists Association, Thepchai said.

The CAJ consists of the CTJ, Vietnam Journalists Association, Indonesian Journalists Association, National Union of Journalists Peninsular Malaysia, Lao Journalists Association, National Press club of The Philippines and Singapore National Union of Journalists.

Media groups from China, Japan and South Korea – Asean Plus Three countries – will also be invited to take part in the conference.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Ministry has been able to seize her passports, found to be four so far.

Deputy National Police Chief Pol General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said on Monday that the police had been going after Yingluck, who was sentenced to five years in jail in September for failing to prevent corruption in her government’s rice-pledging scheme, but they had not yet received any confirmation from the international police that they asked for assistance.

She fled the country prior to the original scheduled reading of the verdict in the case against her, on August 25.

The police early this month requested that Interpol issue a blue notice for Yingluck first in order to locate her, before applying for a red notice, which would require police in other countries to arrest her.

Interpol’s blue notice is used for requesting help to collect information regarding a criminal’s whereabouts or related crime activities, while the red notice is an international arrest warrant.

While the France-based agency did get back to the Thai police for further information in regard to the blue-notice request, they have not heard any further from them.

Srivara said the police had no information regarding her reported attempt to attain asylum status in the United Kingdom either.

The deputy police chief said the Foreign Affairs Ministry had, however, managed to revoke four passports in the ex-PM’s name: two general passports, and two diplomat passports.

In regard to her missing the deadline to appeal the Supreme Court ruling against her, he stressed that it was “her business”.

The Nation on Monday contacted Pol Maj-General Udon Yomcharoen, who oversees the police’s foreign affairs, to check whether the Thai police could continue going after her if she was granted political asylum.

However, he declined to comment, saying only that the national police commissioner and his deputy could provide such an explanation.

Yingluck’s deadline for the appeal passed on Friday, without her filing such a request to the court.

The prosecutor did not do so either, resulting in the case effectively being completed, and with Yingluck, under the new law governing legal procedures against politicians, facing the prospect of remaining a fugitive from Thai justice for the rest of her life.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders convicted the former premier in absentia and announced her prison sentence on September 27.

The law allows her to appeal within 30 days of the date of the verdict’s delivery, but – under new legal provisions – she would have to launch the appeal in person from inside Thailand.

“We have not yet received any contact from her, therefore we did not make any request to the court to extend the period of appeal,” her lawyer Norawit Lalang said on Sunday. “As we did not make an appeal, the case is technically final.”

Norawit said he had received no contact from his client since she fled the country a few days before the court had originally been due to deliver its verdict.

The application period, open on October 19, will be closed on November 10 – yet no one has so far replied.

All the current commissioners are in acting positions since they were removed following the enactment of the EC organic law last month.

The committee seeking EC candidates was set up consisting of representatives from the National Legislative Assembly, courts and independent organisations.

Constitution Drafting Commission chairman Meechai Ruchuphan said that while the committee could seek candidates on their own, there were still days left before the application closing date. “We still have time to wait and see,” the chairman said.

When the organic law on political parties took effect in the first week of October, the NCPO said the lifting of the ban had to wait at least until the Royal Cremation Ceremony was completed.

Watana Muangsook, a leading member of the Pheu Thai Party, wrote on Facebook on Monday, slamming the junta for having “no shame” in saying that it had not convened about the matter.

The former commerce minister said he would “not call for anything, because after all the power belonged to the people and the NCPO would not be able to resist it”.

Describing the junta administration as inefficient, Watana said it should stop playing for time and hurry to lift the ban in order to take the country towards democracy.

The junta should also revoke any orders that restricted rights and freedom, as well as drop charges against dissidents, he wrote.

Somsak Prisananatakul, an adviser to the Chart Thai Pattana Party, on Sunday called for NCPO chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha to allow political activities as it had been nearly a month since the political parties law had become effective.

With the ban still in place, Somsak said that political parties had lost the opportunity to make arrangements in line with the new law.

He was particularly concerned for the bigger parties with a large number of members to reach out to, he said, adding that the process would take some time to complete.

The junta should not be worried that there would be any disorder if it lifted the ban, the veteran politician argued, implying that parties would all be too busy reaching out to their membership.

Sathit Pitutaecha, deputy leader of the Democrat Party, said he believed now was the time to get back to the roadmap and head towards a national election.

There should not be any violence in the current situation, he said, reasoning that in the past, violence had arisen because a certain group of people had used it in order to bid for power.

For his own party, he said they were merely preparing to complete the arrangements as required by the new law.