Prayut said he had his road map and it was not the Election Commission (EC)’s job to say when the election would be held and nor was it the EC’s duty to tell the government what to do

Somchai had recently said in a news show that the election could be held in late September or October next year, if the interpretation of |law indicates that an election will have to be completed within five months once the organic laws are completed.

He was explaining why it would not be a good idea to reset the EC to square one at the moment.

The new commissioners would find it difficult to organise an election in such a limited time, Somchai said.

Prayut responded by saying that the Election Commission’s reset plan would be handled by other related agencies.

In a related development, chief charter drafter Meechai Ruchupan said yesterday that the selection of senators could include preliminary screening before professionals or social groups select their representatives for the Senate.

The new constitution that passed the public referendum early last month has not specified the |selection method.

He added that any method was acceptable provided it can prevent vote-blocs and electoral fraud.

The chief drafter said that, in spirit, the process of selecting |senators from among professional guilds or social groups remained unchanged.

Meechai’s remark came after the EC submitted a new organic law to the Constitution Drafting Commission on acquiring senators.

It said that 50 out of 250 senators during the first five years would be selected from the 200 candidates shortlisted by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), while the remaining 200 would be |selected from the 400 names |prepared by the NCPO appointed committee.

An independent fraud inspection committee made up of people from outside the EC has also been |proposed.

Thaksin’s lawyer Wattana Tiangkul, however, said he would appeal the verdict at the Supreme Administrative Court.

Thaksin had filed a lawsuit against the Foreign Ministry’s permanent secretary and director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs last year for their decision to revoke his passports.

The officials, who have since left the positions, were accused of illegally issuing an order to revoke his passports No U957411 and Z530117. The lawsuit claims that only the executive branch can revoke passports, and that the director-general and the permanent secretary had no authority to revoke Thaksin’s passports.

Thaksin has also accused the two of discrimination and violating the Declaration of Human Rights and international law on civil and political rights.

The court, however, ruled that the decision was legal.

The director of the consular department decided to revoke Thaksin’s passports after the former leader gave an interview to a foreign news agency last year in South Korea in relation to the 2014 military coup and said some things that could affect the country’s security and reputation.

The court said the passport termination procedure followed due process and was lawful. Thaksin has been living in exile, mostly in Dubai, since his government was toppled by a coup in 2006. His passports were revoked every time those in power felt he posed a threat to them.

His diplomatic passport was revoked in 2008 when he was convicted of malfeasance over conflict of interest in the Ratchadaphisek land deal and his normal one was cancelled a few months later by the Abhisit Vejjajivaadministration. He was accused by the then-foreign minister Kasit Piromya of allegedly supporting the unrest led by the red-shirt United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship.

Once his sister Yingluck Shinawatra took over as premier in 2011, her government issued a passport for him. The then foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said the former premier was no longer a threat to the Kingdom and that every Thai had the right to hold a Thai passport.

The revocation of his Thai passports, however, do not seem to pose any problems for Thaksin. He reportedly holds at least two other passports – one from Montenegro and another from Nicaragua. He got those passports after making enormous investments in these countries.

PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha has pledged that he will not give extra help to younger brother, Gen Preecha Chan-o-cha, if there is an investigation into Preecha’s activities.

Meanwhile, the Prayut government will pursue 850 cases against state officials involved in the previous government’s rice-pledging scheme to seek an additional |compensation of Bt142 billion after proceeding with a Bt35-billion civil liability lawsuit against former premier Yingluck Shinawatra.

On the controversy surrounding his younger brother, Prayut said: “I love him but there is nothing I can do to help. Let them probe him if they want to. I just can’t explain anything out of the blue. Don’t you trust the judicial process?”

Prayut was referring to the National Anti-Corruption Commission which last week received a petition that Preecha and four other military officials should be investigated for awarding concessions to a company belonging to Preecha’s son Prathompol.

According to Isra News Agency, Prathompol’s Contemporary Construction Limited Partnership owned concessions of at least 11 state construction projects, seven of which were from the Third Army Area and worth Bt 97.65 million.

But the company, from the day of registration to 2015, owned only Bt 1.78 million worth of construction gear and a pickup truck.

The company also had neither land property nor an office building, Isra News Agency said.

Its address as registered with the Department of Business Development, however, shows that the company is located in the Third Army Area in Phitsanulok. It is also Prathompol’s address as indicated in his national identification card.

Prayut, meanwhile, said that Preecha’s team had already prepared evidence regarding the construction scandals but refused to elaborate. “He [Preecha] and I are different persons. This is nothing about me at all. Don’t mix up things altogether,” he said.

On the rice-pledging scheme, government spokesman Maj-Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said lower-ranking state officials and some private-sector personnel had also been found to have played a role in alleged wrongdoing, and the |Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and other agencies were following up these cases in 33 provinces.

The overall financial damage during 2012-14 production seasons totalled Bt178 billion, of which 20 per cent was attributed to Yingluck for allegedly failing to heed warnings from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to review the farm price subsidy scheme, resulting in heavy state losses.

He said Nakorn Sawan currently has about 200 cases relating to the rice-pledging scheme while Kampheangpet province has more than 100 cases in which lower-ranked officials and private sector personnel committed wrongdoing such as buying the wrong types of paddy rice or recording an inaccurate amount of rice.

These cases will have a statute of limitations of two years starting from the date suspects are identified by investigators.

Sources said suspects in these cases include commerce, agriculture and finance ministry officials as well as the Marketing Organisation for Farmers, privately-owned rice mill operators, surveyors, warehouse operators and exporters.

In addition, members of the previous Yingluck government’s National Rice Policy Committee would also be named as suspects liable for civil compensation.

On the rice-pledging scheme, Prayut also said the finance minister could be assigned to sign an order that former PM Yingluck Shinawatra pay Bt 35.7 billion in compensation to the state to cover losses from the scheme.

Last week, Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn, on behalf of Prayut, signed an order demanding Bt20 billion in compensation from former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and five former officials for alleged bogus government-to-government rice deals.

When asked why he would not sign the order himself, Prayut said that the Commerce Ministry did not force him to do so.

“This is actually the [Commerce] ministry’s responsibility since its officials are members of the committee [investigating the scheme],” Prayut said.

There are another 850 cases related to the scheme, that still need to be investigated, Prayut said.

Prayut also stressed that his use of sweeping power of the interim charter’s Article 44 with regard to the rice-pledging scheme was only to protect investigating officials |and to bring such cases to judicial procedure by its deadline next February.

A legal team of the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order had filed a police complaint against the 19 for breaking NCPO Order 7/2557 when they attempted to kick off their referendum-fraud-monitoring centre in Bangkok on June 19.

If they are prosecuted, they will be tried in a military court, as their case involves internal security.

The alleged offence took place before September 12, when the junta lifted the military’s judicial |power against civilians in cases involving lese majeste and security matters.

In the crackdown, dozens of branches of the red shirts’ centre nationwide were shut down by raiding police and military officers.

The move came during the run-up to the referendum on the constitution on August 7.

Police yesterday agreed to a request by the red shirts to have their eight witnesses questioned as part of the investigation.

The red-shirt leaders said they did not think they had violated the NCPO order for setting up the “fraud-monitoring centre”.

Among the proposed witnesses are the Pheu Thai Party’s former ministers and legal experts, such as Pongthep Thepkanchana, Anudit Nakornthap, Chaikasem Nitisiri, Bhokin Bhalakula and Choosuk Sirinil. After an hour-long interview, police decided to allow the proposed witnesses to come for interrogation within 15 days.

The red shirts told police that they should have their rights protected during legal proceedings, so the witnesses should be allowed to hold grounds come forward, Weng Tojirakarn, a figure in the red shirts’ United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, told The Nation yesterday.

He said the witnesses would defend the UDD by saying it did not unlawfully gang up for political purposes but rather helped watch the referendum process to ensure that it would run freely and fairly.

The 19 UDD leaders were scheduled to report to police next on October 17.

Pol General Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, chair of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, said he had urged all units responsible for cases against politicians to speed up their work, but admitted there were many cases against Yingluck in the hands of the NACC.

At least 13 cases are pending against the former premier, who has asked authorities to treat her fairly.

Besides Yingluck’s cases, Watcharapol said, the NACC would fast-track a case against Suthep Thaugsuban, the former deputy premier and Democrat Party member, accused of graft over a multimillion-baht project to build 396 police stations nationwide. Many people have questioned the progress made in this controversial case.

In a bid to speed up the justice process on corruption cases, a new Criminal Court division for cases of official corruption will open next month, he said. This will allow the NACC to forward pending cases to the new court, which is expected to take less time to make rulings. As a result, wrongdoers could possibly face jail within three years.

Watcharapol said the faster justice process should help discourage corruption. However, he denied that the anti-graft body planned to submit the Alpine Golf Club case, in which Yongyuth Wichaidit, a former interior permanent secretary implicated by the NAAC, to the new court as its first case.

In regard to petitions against General Preecha Chan-o-cha, his wife and his son, Watcharapol said a working group would be set up to investigate these petitions. These include those concerning alleged favouritism in the awarding of multimillion-baht construction contracts to a company owned by Preecha’s son and alleged inappropriate use of Army property by Preecha’s wife.

If there were grounds to proceed with these cases, the NACC would investigate further and take legal action in due time, he said, adding that the NACC has sped up cases involving all former politicians from both the Pheu Thai and Democrat parties.

Meanwhile, Deputy Premier Wissanu Krea-ngam said the civil liability lawsuit against Yingluck, in which compensation of Bt35 billion was sought, was based on Yingluck’s failure to avoid massive losses resulting from the rice-pledging scheme implemented by her government, despite written warnings from the NACC on this matter due to the scheme’s massive losses. The compensation amount was just 20 per cent of the state’s Bt178-billion loss over two seasons from 2012-2014.

Surapong defended Yingluck Shinawatra, the ex-Pheu Thai prime minister, over the controversy, saying she had not taken office when the flooding occurred.

He said the Democrat Party’s Abhisit government was in power at the time.

Former Democrat MP Atthawit Suwannapakdee said he would submit information to the National Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday, alleging the Yingluck government had a role in the water mismanagement shortly after it won office in 2011.

He claimed that before the House dissolution in May 2011 water-storage levels in major dams were relatively normal.

He alleged that concerned agencies were instructed to hold water in dams despite the prospect of Thailand being hit by severe weather.

Atthawit said the subsequent heavy rains resulted in excessive water levels in the dams, which was discharged and was partly to blame for the severe flooding.

He viewed this as water mismanagement, and speculated that the decision not to reduce the dam levels was linked to the government’s rice policy.

However, Surapong said that during this period the Abhisit government acted as the interim administration.

Surapong also called for a probe into the current military government over its role in responding heavy rainfall and flooding in many parts of the country.

National Anti-Corruption Commission member Supa Piyajitti remains chair of the NACC subpanel probing the 2011 floods, despite Pheu Thai calling for his removal, according to a source.

Supa earlier announced her withdrawal from the case concerning the Yingluck government’s role in state procurements for what was described as the sake of transparency. She has five more cases concerningYingluck to probe.

So far, the NACC has dropped two cases against Yingluck, with 13 remaining.

But in the first five years after the new law takes effect, the NCPO will select the 50 occupational representatives from a list of 200 shortlisted candidates.

According to the proposed bill, aspiring senators may apply to become occupational representatives – only one area for each person – by submitting a Bt5,000 fee.

The 20 occupational groups include security and foreign affairs, law and justice system, accounting and finance, education and research, public health, science and technology, religion and art, agriculture, consumer protection, mass media and communications, trade and banking, environment and real estate, civil society, and the disabled and underprivileged.

The candidates will vote among themselves to establish the 200 shortlisted candidates. The vote result will need to be approved by the Election Commission.

Any aspiring senator found to be involved in fraud could face imprisonment of up to 10 years and have his or her electoral rights revoked for 10 years, according to the draft law.

The bill, drafted by an EC working committee, suggests that anyone using dishonest means to help someone get selected as a senator or any candidate allowing others to help them become a senator in that way could be jailed for between one and 10 years.

They also risk a fine of between Bt20,000 and Bt200,000, the draft law states. Those found guilty shall also be stripped of their electoral rights for 10 years by a court order, it says.

A copy of the bill was obtained by The Nation.

The draft also states that it would be against the law to promise benefits, host parties or use any kind of influence in an attempt to gain votes.

NRSA member Wanchai Sornsiri said yesterday that if necessary, the agency should be reset back to square one. He said some commission members were fighting one another for a position in the agency and as the election is approaching, the EC should not be tangled up with such issues.

“The Election Commission is the hope in holding an election. If the commissioners are fighting, how can we be hopeful that the next election will be orderly?” Wanchai said.

Another NRSA member, Amnuay Nimmano, said that while some EC commissioners had shown an ambition to chair the agency, he believed they could still work |together.

Seree Suwannapanont, chairman of the NRSA’s political reform committee, said the committee would discuss the matter with the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) tomorrow.

Shortly after the referendum last month, news circulated that there was conflict among the EC’s five commissioners. Some of them are reportedly unhappy with EC president Supachai Somcharoen’s role and called on him to resign. Supachai refused to comply.

He said he was not sure that resigning from the president’s chair would require him to resign from the EC. Stepping down would cause difficulties, he said, as the National Council for Peace and Order |currently forbade the recruitment of independent agency commissioners.

CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan said he had only heard from news reports the NRSA’s suggestions about independent |agencies but he had not acknowledged them.

Meechai said that when writing organic laws involving political parties and elections, the drafters would only heed opinions from related |parties, he added.

He said any changes to the agencies following the constitution, such as increasing the number of the commissioners, would be written carefully in the organic laws. He added that the drafters had not yet discussed how to write them.