The government will call a meeting next week to discuss preparations for local elections, stirring talk that the ban on political activities will be relaxed soon to allow them to take place ahead of a national poll.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday he will meet representatives of the Local Administration Department under the Interior Ministry, the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) and a committee on legal reform on Wednesday to discuss a new legislative bill governing local elections.
The current law on local elections cannot be applied because these polls will be organised by the new Election Commission (EC) which has been restructured under a new law.
Observers note that local elections will serve as a warm-up to prepare the EC for the tough challenge of organising the national polls which are expected next November.
A government source told the Bangkok Post that one of the advantages of calling early local polls is that it will allow the National Council for Peace and Order to monitor and assess the strength of canvassers of the anti-coup Pheu Thai Party, such as kamnan and village heads, who make up the party's support base.
Mr Wissanu previously hinted that the political restrictions could be partially lifted to allow local elections to take place. However, he stressed local elections would be limited to certain localities.
There are several types of local administrative organisations. They include the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, municipalities and tambon administration organisations.
Mr Wissanu said local elections could not be held immediately, noting that laws governing local polls would have to be amended to meet stricter requirements under the new charter.
However, Weerasak Krueathep, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, told the Bangkok Post that the government will use local elections as a way to share power with political parties.
He believed a pro-regime political party will contest local elections against long-established parties like the Democrat Party and the Pheu Thai Party.
The NCPO is aware that if the general election was called today, its pro-regime party would have little chance against those two heavyweights, Mr Weerasak said.
In light of this, the regime will need to establish a foothold in local governing bodies, he said.
Jade Donavanik, an adviser to the CDC, told the Bangkok Post that the government will use the new legislative bill on local elections to force local administrative bodies to shift allegiance from political parties to the regime.
Mr Jade said that the NCPO is attempting to weaken the support of the major parties due to the popularity of leading figures in the Pheu Thai and Democrat parties.
This has left the NCPO with no choice but to use local administration bodies as its tool, Mr Jade said.
Meanwhile, a Pheu Thai Party member has asked the Constitutional Court to rule if the political ban imposed by the NCPO is in violation of the new charter.
Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, who is also a lawyer, said the NCPO's refusal to lift its ban on political gatherings and activities despite the enforcement of an organic law on political parties is unconstitutional.
By maintaining the ban, the regime is violating Section 45 of the charter which enshrines political freedom in law, he said.
According to Mr Ruangkrai, the organic law governing political parties specifies a time-frame for political parties to abide.
The law has been in effect since Oct 8 but the regime has showed reluctance to lift the ban and allow political parties to assume activities, he said.
Politicians are reportedly worried that will not have enough time to prepare for elections if the ban is prolonged because the law has many conditions for eligibility such as holding internal primary caucuses.
Meanwhile, applications for those vying for seats on the EC closed yesterday, with a total of 41 people putting themselves forward. Most of them are former government officials, particularly from the Interior Ministry, lawyers and members of private organisations. Four retired generals are also among the applicants.
