Thaksin’s youngest daughter Paetongtarn on Thursday posted a photo of her father in his Dubai residence on her Facebook account, Ing Shinawatra.

“My father phoned me and told me that he misses his children, nieces and nephew so much after he returned back to Dubai,” she posted.

“We miss you too. We will see you again.”

Thaksin and his two daughters Pintongta, and Paetongtarn have been in London since September 15, according to their posts on social media.

Thai authorities admitted on Wednesday that Thaksin’s fugitive sister, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, is also in London.

Yingluck last week was sentenced to five years in prison for her negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government’s rice-pledging scheme.

She fled Thailand in late August ahead of the reading of the verdict and flew to Dubai. Foreign media reported that she had left Dubai for London on September 11.

PRIME MINISTER General Prayut Chan-o-cha has told the Thai community during his visit to the United States that the election should take place in 2019, many months later than the junta-appointed legislators had predicted.

Prayut spoke after he told US President Donald Trump on Monday that the election date would be announced next year without any further postponement.

He said the election would be organised within 150 days after the promulgation of essential organic laws, which he said should be completed by November 2018.

Given Prayut’s timeline, the election could be held in March or April 2019.

After the election, it should take a further five to six months to set up the next government and the Upper and Lower houses, the premier said.

According to the current charter, the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) must complete drafting 10 essential bills within 240 days after the charter was promulgated on April 6.

The draft bills have to be deliberated by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) within 60 days, and 30 more days are allowed for possible legal objections and reviews.

When the NLA has completed its deliberations, the drafts will be forwarded to the prime minister, who will have 30 days to consider them. The laws will then be submitted to the King, who could take up to 90 days to consider royal endorsement.

Prayut met the Thai community on the final day of his visit to the United States.

During an hour-long talk, Prayut was asked whether he would compete in the next general election. He replied that he would have to seek party members first.

When he was asked again if he was certain about his answer, he said “yes”.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said following the original “road map to democracy”, the CDC was supposed to complete drafting the four required organic laws by late this year. Afterwards, the NLA will have another 60 days to finish deliberating and endorsing the laws.

If there are any objections, resolving them could take about 30 days before royal endorsement. Once the organic laws are promulgated, it would take another 150 days for preparations before the election could take place, Wissanu said.

“Please do not assume. The original road map is actually addressed in the charter’s provisional chapter,” said Wissanu, adding that various factors could affect the exact date of the election.

Following the road map, Wissanu said a new government could enter office by late next year or early 2019, 60 days after the election results are announced.

NLA President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said the prime minister’s election timetable could not be interpreted as anything but a suggestion to the NLA to complete enactment of the laws by late next year so the election date could be declared.

Following the charter, the election is to take place 150 days after election preparations are complete, so the organic laws must be in place by then.

Pornpetch said he would try to expedite the NLA deliberations process.

He said the CDC had advised that it would submit the two remaining election laws on MP elections and selection of the Senate by late November, after which the NLA would have 60 days for deliberation.

NLA Vice President Surachai Liengboonlertchai said the enactment of the organic laws would follow the timeline given in the charter. He said he could not predict whether the timeframe would be extended until next November, as announced by the premier, and whether the election would be delayed to 2019.

Department director-general Amnat Chotchai said yesterday he would head the group and was seeking to recruit experts to join it.

The group will be formed even though the Attorney-General has not yet received an official police request to pursue Yingluck, who is reportedly in London and has sought political asylum in the UK.

But the Attorney-General could justify its move to seek extradition because Yingluck’s case was related to graft, not politics, Amnat said, arguing that the former premier had attended all the court hearings until August 25 when the Supreme Court was scheduled to deliver its verdict.

A century-old extradition treaty between Thailand and the UK is still in force and British laws also cover graft and negligence-related cases, Amnat added.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry is considering revoking Yingluck’s passports but has not commented on her reported plan to live in exile overseas.

The ministry has received a request from police to cancel her travel documents and is considering it in line with the ministry’s 2005 regulation on passports, spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks said yesterday.

The ministry did not have any information about her reported plan to seek asylum in the United Kingdom, Busadee added.

Rumours were widespread yesterday that Yingluck had received political asylum in Britain and was attempting to set up a government-in-exile.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said he did not know anything about the reports.

Prawit denied that he had met Yingluck in London last month.

Prawit had travelled to London to attend the Defence and Security Equipment International arms exhibition from September 12 to 15.

Yingluck last week was sentenced to five years in prison for her negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government’s rice-pledging scheme. However, หhe fled Thailand in late August ahead of the reading of the verdict and flew to Dubai.

Foreign media reported that she had left Dubai for London on September 11. Thaksin and his two daughters had been in London from September 15 onwards, but now Thaksin is back in Dubai, according to their posts on social media.

“How could I meet her and no one saw it? I don’t know when she came to London. I was there for two days and met two UK ministers. That’s it,” Prawit said.

The caretaker secretary-general of the opposition Pheu Thai Party, Phumtham Wechayachai, dismissed the reports. “The reports are groundless and not true. It is speculation,” said Phumtham. “We have not received news from the ex-premier.

“Photos of her circulated on social media are old and doctored. It has caused a lot of misunderstanding,” he added.

Phumtham said he believed that Yingluck would eventually speak for herself when the time was right.

Thai citizens, however, are split on the visit. Suan Dusit Poll’s result released on Sunday said that more than 70 per cent of people were positive about strengthening ties, but opinions on social media raised concerns that the junta had signed multi-million-dollar deals, including concessions on pork imports to the agriculturally rich Kingdom, to boost its legitimacy. Prayut had prepared protocols for half a year since Trump invited him to visit in an April phone call. The Thai premier started off by paying condolences to victims of recent US hurricanes before addressing cooperation on security and regional issues.

Prayut also managed to praise the president’s wife Melania and daughter Ivanka for their support for people with fewer opportunities. Ivanka has been invited to observe highly promoted efforts to combat human trafficking in Thailand.

Trump in turn said it was a great honour to host “Prime Minister Prayut of Thailand and Mrs Prayut”, in a reference to Naraporn Chan-o-cha, the prime minister’s wife. “So we have a very strong relationship right now, as of this moment, and it’s getting stronger in the last nine months,” Trump said, reiterating his administration’s benefits-based approach, which places less emphasis on human rights and democratic values than his predecessors.

Trump wasted no time in pointing out during the meeting that “we’re going to try and sell a little bit more to you, now make that a little bit better if that’s possible”.

The president then went on at length about addressing the damage in hurricane-struck Puerto Rico and in Las Vegas after the mass shooting in the city in his closing remarks.

The two leaders then posed for handshakes with Trump and Melania, dressed in the newest Alexander McQueen’s Spring 2018 dress, standing on narrow red carpet with Prayut and Naraporn incongruously standing next to them on the plain ground.

The meetings followed an agreement on Thai gas investments in Ohio, a private sector US$6-billion (Bt200-billion) purchase of coal, and discussions about opening Thailand’s pork and turkey markets. While Prayut said he had not discussed new military hardware deals, Thailand proceeded to obtain Harpoon missiles and Black Hawk and Lakota helicopters from the US.

Kai Maew drew three-panel cartoons on his Facebook page mocking Prayut for rowing a coconut shell, an oft-used Thai metaphor for people with closed attitudes, carrying the purchases away.

“Prayut’s current condition is like he had an appointment with a famous friend. He was so happy before finding out that friend actually wanted to do a direct sale to him,” one comment said.

courtesy of Facebook page Kai Maew

Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, however, reiterated in Thailand that the election date would be set after the completion of the relevant organic laws plus 150 days for election preparations.

The statement said Trump welcomed the commitment to the roadmap, which upon implementation of relevant organic laws as stipulated in the Constitution, would lead to free and fair elections in 2018.

Prayut had assured Trump during their meeting at the White House on Tuesday that an election date would be announced next year, with the election to follow within 150 days, as stipulated in the charter. Prayut said he raised the subject without prompting from Trump.

The Thai premier led a delegation to Washington that included Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and top-level economic officials. They are spending three days in the US and meeting other senior state and business officials. Tuesday’s meeting between Prayut and Trump in the Oval Office signalled the revitalisation of Thai-US relations following a chilled period resulting from the 2014 coup led by Prayut.

Prawit, however, refused to confirm the date despite the joint statement citing “free and fair elections in 2018”.

Prawit said what the prime minister meant when informing Trump was that he would made the announcement next year about the election date, with a condition that the election would take place after the completion of the laws and the countdown of election-preparation days.

“It’s not that he said the election will be held next year,” Prawit said. “When the election date will be is up to the completion of the organic laws.”

Two of those laws have been promulgated – the Election Commission and the political parties laws – while the other two, concerning senators and the election of MPs, are still going through the drafting and deliberation process.

Once that process is completed, there will be another 150 days for preparation by the Election Commission before the election will take place.

Srivara said the police had information that the officer was a “mastermind” in the case. Yingluck’s flight, he said, could not have been carried out without a mastermind.

Police are waiting for the results of DNA tests, expected tomorrow, before extending their investigations, he said.

If the DNA traces found in the Toyota Camry belong to Yingluck, her driver – Pol Colonel Chairit Anurit of the Metropolitan Police – would also be charged with dereliction of duty under Article 157, Srivara said. Chairit has already been charged with possessing fake licence plates found in the vehicle and has been the subject of a disciplinary probe.

On August 23, Yingluck fled in the vehicle to Sa Kaew province, where she reportedly crossed the border. She was subsequently found to have reached Dubai, which she later left to travel to the United Kingdom.

She did not 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 her guilty on some charges and she was jailed in absentia for five years without suspension.

Srivara said he has filed a complaint with the Immigration Bureau against Yingluck for violation of the immigration law. Under the law, an arrest warrant would be issued next.

He also said he has expedited a complaint filed to Interpol, asking for a “red notice” – effectively an international arrest warrant – to be issued against Yingluck.

The Royal Thai Police’s Foreign Affairs Division has informed him that a “blue notice” must be issued first. This would ask Interpol members to help locate, identify or obtain information about Yingluck and her whereabouts.

Srivara said Yingluck was already a convict, and he believed that her case was not political, but about corruption, so she should be subject to a red notice.

Srivara said Thai police had contacted their counterparts in the UK and were waiting to hear back.

The United Arab Emirates had notified Thai authorities that Yingluck had left Dubai for the UK on September 11, he said.

WHILE Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has said he was impressed by the warm welcome extended to him by US President Donald Trump this week, saying the US was a “true friend”, opposition has been voiced at home over the benefit Thailand obtained from his high-profile visit.

Speaking to a dinner talk hosted by US-Asean Business Council and US Chamber of Commerce, Prayut noted that he was the first sitting premier in 12 years who had had the chance to meet the US president in the White House.

“I’m here to mend the ties, fix the problems and move forward the relations with our ally,” Prayut said. “The US is our friend, which has crucial roles in security, trade, business and people-to-people relations.”

The last prime minister to make an official visit the White House was Thaksin Shinawatra in 2005, before he was toppled by a military coup.

The relations between Thailand and the US had soured since Prayut led a military coup to oust Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014, prompting a strong reaction from the administration of Barack Obama, who ordered a freeze on some military assistance.

Washington’s stance against the coup and democratic suppression upset the generals in Bangkok, who tilted their foreign and security policies towards Beijing. They also bought military hardware from China.

“I met and chit-chatted with President Trump as if we have been familiar with each other for a long time. He is polite and spoke melodiously to me. I feel like I have a friend here. And, it’s true that he was sincere to me,” Prayut told the elite business club on Tuesday evening local time in Washington DC.

Prayut also said US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who was in Thailand a few days before Prayut left for the US, was impressed during his visit.

“I heard that he now feels good about Thailand. It means he has no doubts about Thailand. Now he is confident in Thailand. That’s sure. I love Thais, I love Americans. Thai people are familiar and close to Americans.

Prayut said Thailand and the US would cooperate to take care of regional security, noting that Thailand had fought alongside the US in the Korea and Vietnam wars.

“We have helped each other to keep peace under the United Nations flag in many places. We are friends in the field,” he said.

On the issue of economic cooperation, Prayut said many Thai companies had invested in the US and vice versa. “Our investment in the US might be less compared to the US investment in Thailand, but investors should look at Thailand and Asean as a region, and we have a lot of business potential – such as the Eastern Economic Corridor,” he said.

In Thailand, observers said the Thai delegation might not benefit as much as the US under the government and private-sector deals struck in Washington.

The Siam Cement Group will sign two agreements to buy 155,000 tonnes of coal from the US and the military is about to finalise agreements to buy helicopters and missile, and upgrade jet fighters.

Observers noted that the Americans had not promised to buy anything from Thailand or invest more during Prayut’s visit.

Thailand ranks 11th of 16 countries on a Trump administration watchlist for having a significant trade surpluses against the US. In the first half of 2017, the US trade balance with Thailand went to negative US$11.45 billion (Bt3.8 trillion).

Trump told Prayut during a meeting on Monday that he wanted Thailand to buy more to adjust the trade imbalance.

Pheu Thai Party spokesperson Anusorn Iamsa-ard asked Prayut to disclose the benefits Thailand received from the US visit, and whether it was worth the cost of such a high-profile trip.

“There is nothing to be proud of being a coup leader who was invited to the White House. The US was criticised strongly for the change of its foreign policy. We all know that the US wants to export more to Thailand,” he said.

Anusorn was also concerned that Thailand was about to open up the market for pork from the US. Many US pork producers use Ractopamine, a chemical feed additive used to make meat leaner that is banned in Thailand.

Certainty that Thailand will follow the democratic path will help boost the confidence of foreign investors, which will be beneficial to the economy and the people’s well-being, Polapoom said.

Another Pheu Thai ex-MP, Amnuay Klangpa, said Prayut’s announcement was nothing unusual, as all legislative processes stipulated in the charter should make the election possible no later than next year.

But it is good that Prayut did not postpone the timeline any further, as it has been altered several times, Ammuay said. “Failing to keep this timeline will only hurt Prayut’s own legitimacy in the international arena,” he added.

They are:

Legal enactment and law review mechanisms as required by the constitution should be in place to ensure that law enactment or review will yield good laws.

New laws should be written to create social justice and eliminate inequality.

New laws or law amendments should be made to boost the country’s competitiveness.

Outdated laws should be revoked or updated.

Legislation processes should be made fast and rounded, and correspond to the constitution with more public participation involved.

Public accessibility to the legal database should be supported and designed in ways to promote public understanding.

Legal education should be reformed to create ethical lawyers.

IT system should be improved to facilitate communication between people and law enforcers, reducing costs and officers’ tendency to take bribes.

The committee plans to submit the completed reform plan to the head committee on December 25 and then to the national reform committee and the Cabinet, who will have 30 days each to deliberate the plan.

He personally believed that the NLA would meet the deadline set in the new charter. The charter requires the Constitution Drafting Commission to finish 10 organic laws, four of which necessary for the election, and the NLA is given 60 days to finish deliberating the laws.

There will be three organic laws left, which concern senators, MPs elections and National Anti Corruption Commission, Surachai said, adding the CDC has informed the NLA that it would submit two laws in late November for the NLA to being deliberations.

Other factors, including the set-up of triparte law review committees after differences emerge following the NLA’s passage of the laws, are also limited by the timeframes set in the new charter, Surachai said. He said there should not be any law-enactment factors affecting the coming election under the road map.