Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will invoke Section 44 to partially lift the ban on political activities, paving the way for parties to resume their activities, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said Thursday, with a decision likely "soon".
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has considered the matter for some time and plans to ease the restrictions to permit some political activities, he said.
While it was not made clear when the NCPO chief will issue such orders, Gen Prayut said on Tuesday that he would "unlock" some issues and start talks with parties next month.
They include holding party meetings to select party executives and recruiting members; giving their opinions on the demarcation of constituencies; conducting primary votes to choose poll candidates, setting up committees to select poll candidates; and contacting party members, Mr Wissanu said.
He said Gen Prayut, as the NCPO chief, will use the power under Section 44 of the interim charter to clear the way for these activities to be carried out.
The NCPO order on a ban of political activities must be amended by new orders issued under Section 44, Mr Wissanu confirmed.
He said that even after parties complete the election primaries, they will still not be allowed to canvas for votes. Election campaigns will only start only after a royal decree declaring the poll date is issued, he said.
The Election Commission (EC) previously said that a royal decree declaring the poll date would be issued in January of next year and that the election was to be held on Feb 24.
This raised concern among parties that they will have little time to prepare.
Gen Prayut said during a cabinet trip to Chumphon on Tuesday that the election has been tentatively set for Feb 24, marking his latest poll pledge after a series of delays.
Gen Prayut gave the same date as the EC had predicted, adding that it would not occur any sooner.
It was the first time the prime minister had given a precise date for the poll.
However, other government sources have provided a possible date in May of next year.
Also Thursday, Army chief Gen Chalermchai Sittisad, who is also the secretary-general of the NCPO, said the NCPO will consider easing the ban at its next meeting expected to take place next month.
The ban will be partially lifted so parties can resume some political activities, Gen Chalermchai said.
But the Pheu Thai Party called for the ban on political parties engaging in political activities to be totally lifted.
There are now six months to go before the tentative election date of Feb 24 as suggested by Gen Prayut.
The NCPO should now lift all political restrictions to pave the way for a free and fair election, rather than only "unlock'' some restrictions.
The restrictions that must be totally lifted include NCPO Order No 3/2015 which bans the political gathering of more than five people, Order 57/2014 which prohibits parties from engaging in activities, and Order No 53/2017 which was issued to amend the organic law on political parties, the Pheu Thai said.
The Pheu Thai Party has argued that parties need time to devise and present policies to the people for consideration and that they need to meet the people in order to gather their opinions on what they want from the poll.
While parties must comply with the ban on activity related to election primaries, it remains unclear how confusion over the primaries will be cleared up.
Furthermore, as the NCPO continues to maintain the long-held ban on political activities, this will restrict the people's freedom of expression, the Pheu Thai Party said, adding the NCPO should ensure a level playing field for all political groups and parties, rather than favouring one group over others.
The Pheu Thai referred to the Sam Mitr group which has been travelling to the provinces to collect feedback from locals as to how the government can better respond to their needs.
But the regime is also being criticised for allowing the group, which is seen as the regime's recruiting arm, to engage in political activities to court politicians from other parties into the regime's fold.
