BANGKOK, Dec 11, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Thailand’s junta on Tuesday lifted a ban
on political campaigning ahead of 2019 elections, more than four years after
the restriction was imposed following the kingdom’s latest coup.
One of the military’s first acts after seizing power in May 2014 was to
outlaw political activity of all kind, as it muzzled opposition in a country
notorious for its rowdy — and often deadly — street politics.
But the ban was officially lifted on Tuesday, prompting the Election
Commission to confirm an expected poll date of February 24.
“Political parties should be able to campaign to present their policies,”
according to an order signed by junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha and published
by palace mouthpiece the Royal Gazette.
The junta “has decided to amend or abolish the laws” which could inhibit
campaigns before elections, it said.
Thailand’s rulers began easing restrictions in September, allowing
political parties to recruit new members and elect leaders. But campaigns and
street rallies remained banned.
Tuesday’s order raises the prospect of a return to Thailand’s rambunctious
politics and the potential for street rallies that have defined much of the
turbulent last decade of Thai politics.
Scores have died in street protests between competing factions over the
past decade, as politics sharply polarised between supporters of the powerful
Shinawatra clan — popular in the poor, populous north and northeast — and
the royalist, conservative Bangkok-centric elite backed by the army.
Analysts say this time the military and its backers are hellbent on
blocking the Shinawatra clan from returning to power.
A new charter embeds government policy for the next 20 years, dilutes the
number of elected parliamentary seats available and introduces a hand-picked
upper house and the possibility of an appointed prime minister.
Prayut, a former army chief, is widely tipped to make a bid for the
premiership after elections.
Despite lifting the campaigning ban, the junta still retains tools to
silence its critics including arbitrary detention, according to legal
experts.
“It’s to be seen how far the authorities will let people rally at certain
‘restricted’ places like at the Government House or near the palace,” said
Anon Chawalawan, of legal monitoring group iLaw.
– Time to vote –
Politicians of across the divides welcomed the easing of the ban.
Former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, an arch rival to the Shinawatras
whose conservative Democrat party has not won a Thai election in over two
decades, said it “should have been done before”.
Thailand’s junta says it was forced to seize power in 2014 to restore order
after months of street protests paralysed the government of Yingluck
Shinawatra. But a promised return to elections has repeatedly slipped,
allowing the junta to woo defectors from rivals including Pheu Thai,
Thailand’s biggest party which it dumped from office with its coup.
Pheu Thai is loyal to Yingluck, premier until shortly before the coup, and
her older brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a controversial billionaire ex-prime
minister who sits at the heart of the kingdom’s political schism.
The siblings both live in self-exile to avoid jail over convictions in
Thailand.
Parties loyal to the Shinawatra clan have won every Thai general election
since 2001, despite being hit by two coups and the removal of three prime
ministers by pro-establishment courts.
After years insisting he was compelled by duty to seize power, junta leader
and premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha is flirting with a run for top office after the
elections.
He has criss-crossed the country offering economic handouts, photo
opportunities and building alliances with local politicos.