Chavalit Wichayasut said such moves would enhance the nation’s credibility.

“Now, some people are still questioning whether there is discrimination in the justice system, using the law to punish someone retroactively,” Chavalit said, apparently referring to the new legal procedures law against politicians in criminal cases that can proceed in absentia.

Although the government said that law was fair, the politician said he did not think the government was being reasonable.

To bring some cases back to court would trouble people, he said. And as the international community places importance on the rule of law, such a practice risked costing the country its credibility – and it would not be worth it, he said.

Another area of concern was the extra-constitutional power, he said. Although the new charter has already been effected, the exercise of Article 44 – which grants absolute power to the junta head – remained, Chavalit explained.

“It could be weird that an election is held to bring back democracy while such extra power remains,” he said.

Chavalit’s reaction came after Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha stated clearly that an election would occur in November next year. Prayut’s announcement caused the Stock Exchange of Thailand index to jump to more than 1,700 on Tuesday.

Chairit yesterday reported to his head office to acknowledge the action. He has been accused of breaching police ethical codes under the 1974 national police law. He has declined to confirm that his passenger was Yingluck, only saying he had driven a seized Toyota Camry to Sa Kaew province on August 23.

A police fact-finding committee will submit its results to the disciplinary act panel to determine what penalties he will face.

Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai, meanwhile, said his ministry would check the veracity of news reports that former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra had gained asylum status in the United Kingdom.

Don asked people not to jump to conclusions and pressure his ministry to take action. He preferred to avoid using the word “asylum”, as he was not certain about reports regarding the issue, he added. The minister said officials at the ministry were working on revoking Yingluck’s passport, but had not yet reported to him about their progress.

PRIME MINISTER General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday announced firmly that the election would be held in November next year, following a previous indication that it would be in June 2019.

“For this [election] part, it was said that it would be around June 2018 that there will be the announcement of the election date, and then in November, there will be the election,” Prayut said after meetings of the Cabinet and the National Council for Peace and Order at Government House.

Asked whether this follows the “road map”, the premier reiterated: “Yes, I told you that the election will be held in November.”

It is the fifth alternative of the junta’s so-called “road map to democracy” since Prayut’s military-installed government came to power in Thailand in 2014.

The junta has lately remained tight-lipped on spelling out a clear election timetable, citing several factors, including complicated charter drafting and amendments, the enactment of complicated organic laws and the late King’s funeral, all of which it said had contributed to changes in the planned date.

Critics suspect that the junta has taken those factors as opportunities to push out the election date while they prepare to build long-binding governing mechanisms, such as the 20-year national strategy.

During his trip to the US last week, Prayut made another promise, assuring US President Donald Trump that the election date would be announced next year. Their joint statement also suggested free and fair elections in 2018.

When he met with the Thai community during his visit, however, he told them that the election should take place in 2019, many months later than the junta-appointed legislators had projected following the latest road map addressed in the new charter. This prompted confusion over the road map and the coming election.

Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said that Prayut’s remarks were not obligatory, as he had merely “updated domestic situations” during a joint press conference.

Parties told to calm down

Government Spokesperson Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd explained that the new timeline follows the one calculated by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam according to stipulations in the current charter.

Regarding the four organic laws essential to hold an election, the two laws on the Election Commission and political parties were already promulgated and the other two, on the election of MPs and the selection of Senators, are due to be considered by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) next month.

It will take three months for deliberation and another three months for the King to consider his royal endorsement.

When including extra time for amendments to the bills, the election date should be able to be settled by next June, the spokesperson said.

Since the charter says that election must be organised by 150 days, or around five months, after the organic laws are in effect, the election must be held in following November, he explained.

Prayut, meanwhile, urged political parties to calm down, adding that restrictions on political activities would be subject to debate. He said that the NCPO had acknowledged the issue at the meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, however, asked for time to consider lifting the ban on political activities, as he wished to deliberate the most appropriate time to do so. He would prefer to see this month completed first before coming to a decision, he said.

Prawit said he had no idea what conditions would follow the lifting of the ban, but one thing was certain: that political gatherings would still not be allowed following such a move.

He said political parties would still have time, either 90 or 180 days as stipulated under the new political party law, to prepare for the coming general election – a period he considered long enough. The lifting of the ban would definitely come in time for parties to work things out ahead of the election, he said.

The NCPO discussed the matter yesterday and speculation about the date of November 1 for lifting the ban on political activities was unfounded, Prawit said.

Based on the August 25 verdict in the rice-pledging scheme, the AMLO found 25 items in property and other assets belonging to suspect Thanyaporn Chansakulporn were concealed under the name of other people at the TC Property Company. The office would freeze assets worth Bt 2.3 billion, said Romasit Wiriyasan, who is acting on behalf of the AMLO chief.

Thanyaporn is a daughter of Apichart Chansakulporn, alias Sia Pieng, whose assets worth Bt13 billion had already been seized in connection with fraud in the rice-pledging scheme, he said.

Rice businessman Apichart reportedly has close connections with Pheu Thai Party politicians. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for embezzlement and fraud.

Fraud charges in the rice-pledging scheme were a political blow to the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, who was convicted last month for malfeasance in office. It was found that as prime minister at the time, she ignored scandal surrounding the project.

At the same meeting yesterday, the AMLO decided to freeze 33 assets worth more than Bt71 million in connection with embezzlement of temple-restoration funds bestowed by the NOB.

The assets belong to the NBO’s former directors, Phanom Sornsilp and Nopparat Benjawatananan, many other officials, former Buddhist monks and laymen accused of embezzlement.

It is alleged that between 2012 and 2016 they embezzled hundreds of millions of baht that was meant for temple restorations.

FUGITIVE FORMER prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has threatened to take legal action against people who have implicated him in actions deemed to have insulted the monarchy, while denying any involvement with lese majeste.

“I’m so concerned [about the false claim]. I insist I have never known that person [who used his name]. And I have never thought about insulting the Monarchy,” he tweeted via @ThaksinLive on Monday night, without elaborating to whom he was referring.

Thaksin also condemned the action and said he would file a lawsuit against anyone who had implicated him.

“I will have my legal team sue whoever implicated me in an insult of the monarchy,” he tweeted.

His two daughters also supported their father on social media.

On Instagram yesterday, Thaksin’s eldest daughter Pintongta Kunakornwong insisted her father was loyal to the monarchy.

Posting a screenshot of Thaksin’s tweets, Pintongta wrote: “The truth is the truth. Please, be strong. You have my support.”

Pintongta wrote that she sympathised with her father who she said had been a victim of mud-slinging since he entered the civil service to his current exile.

“We [Thaksin’s children] all know very well that dad’s loyalty to the monarchy is true and has never declined,” Pintongta wrote.

Paetongtarn, Thaksin’s youngest daughter, also posted the screenshots of Thaksin’s tweets but did not write any further comments.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that the judicial system would determine whether Thaksin was guilty of lese majeste.

“Let justice work,” he said.

In a related development, Thaksin assigned his lawyer to file a petition with the Office of the Attorney-General asking for a review of the lese majeste charge.

His lawyer will submit the petition today to the Office of the Attorney-General, TV24 People Station, a red-shirt affiliated news channel, reported on Monday.

Last week, the new attorney-general, Khemchai Chutiwong, revealed that the office had agreed with a police request to formally charge Thaksin with lese majeste and violations of the Computer Crime Act.

The charge relates to an interview Thaksin gave to South Korean media in 2015, when he allegedly made contentious statements about who was behind a coup that ousted the Pheu Thai-led government in May 2014.

Authorities said the next step would be to locate Thaksin and issue an arrest warrant, adding that once his whereabouts were confirmed, they would ask for his extradition.

Last week Thaksin was in Dubai after spending time with his family in London last month.

Jate insisted there should not be any attempt to reject the organic bills required under the Constitution in order to drag out the process.

The election can take place 150 days after all four organic laws necessary for an election to take place are promulgated.

The last two bills of these laws will be submitted to the NLA late next month, he said, adding that the assembly would then have 60 days to consider each of them.

The other two laws have already been passed.

Although he was not sure whether the NLA would accept the original drafts or they would have to go through extra processes, such as deliberation by a joint committee or the Constitutional Court, the spokesman insisted that the election should not come later than November next year, as promised by Prayut.

The police officer on Tuesday reported to his head office to acknowledge the disciplinary charge against him.

He has been accused of breaching the police force’s ethical code under the 1974 national police law.

Chairit refused to confirm that his passenger on August 23 was Yingluck, only saying that he had driven a since-seized Toyota Camry to Sa Kaeo province on that day.

The police’s fact-finding committee will now submit their investigation results to the disciplinary-action panel for the latter to determine penalties against him.

Alongside this disciplinary probe, Chairit has already been criminally charged with possessing fake licence plates found in the vehicle.

On August 23, Yingluck allegedly fled in the vehicle to Sa Kaeo province, where she then reportedly crossed the border.

She was subsequently found to have reached Dubai, from where she later travelled to the United Kingdom.

She failed to attend the scheduled August 25 reading of the Supreme Court verdict in the case against her relating to her government’s rice-pledging scheme.

The verdict, which was finally read on September 27, found the ex-PM guilty on some of the charges and she was sentenced in absentia to five years in jail, without any suspension of the sentence.

The police have since charged her for violation of immigration law, and have also asked Interpol to issue a red notice in order to assist in her arrest.

Thai authorities have also sought the cooperation of other countries to locate her exact whereabouts.

Yingluck is reportedly seeking asylum in the UK, France or Germany.

Prawit said he had no idea what conditions would follow the lifting of the ban, but one thing was certain: that political gatherings would still not be allowed following such a move.

He said political parties would still have time, either 90 or 180 days as stipulated under the new political party law, to prepare for the coming general election, a period he considered to be long enough for preparation.

The lifting of the ban would definitely come, so that parties have time to work things out ahead of the election, he said.

The National Council for Peace and Order discussed the matter this morning, and current speculation about the date of November 1 for lifting the ban on political activities was unfounded, the deputy premier emphasised.

Don asked people not to jump the gun and pressure the ministry to take action.

He personally preferred to avoid using the word “asylum” in this case, as he was not certain about reports that the fugitive ex-PM had been granted such status, he added.

The minister said officials at the ministry were working on the revocation of Yingluck’s passport, but had not yet reported back to him about the progress made.

Election will be held in November next year, said Prayut.

The government will make the announcement of the actual election date in June next year and the election will be held in November, he said.

He was speaking after chairing a meeting of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

The NCPO meeting acknowledged the organic law on political parties, which introduces the primary voting system and goes into effect on Sunday.

The premier added that as the organic law on political parties is in place, some political restrictions such as political gathering and activities imposed by the NCPO after the coup, will be relaxed at the appropriate time.

The law has 11 sections covering 152 articles and is the third of the 10 organic laws that have received royal endorsement so far.

The first two were the laws concerning the Election Commission and criminal procedures against political office holders.