Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's latest use of the powerful Section 44 to extend deadlines for administrative work of political parties undermines the credibility of his own roadmap to democracy while overriding the spirit of the organic law on political parties written and passed by lawmakers appointed by his own regime.
On Friday, he issued a new order, under the special power granted by the former interim charter, to extend the deadlines for administrative work but still maintain the political ban on more substantive activities required by the law.
The order is needed because Gen Prayut had refused to lift the political ban since the organic law on political parties was promulgated on Oct 7.
The order comes as a rescue to existing political parties who had worried they could risk losing their legal status if they missed the Jan 5 deadline, a timeline specified by the law, to update their membership.
But it only allows the administrative work, such as membership updates and registration and membership payment, while it forbids other more important functions specified by the organic law.
For example, the law requires that political parties call for general meetings to decide and formally declare their directives and policies within 180 days or six months since the law took effect on Oct 7.
The latest order disallows this, saying it could be done once the political ban is lifted and halving the timeframe to 90 days.
To honour the spirit of the law, Gen Prayut could do better by just lifting the political ban to allow parties to carry out all key activities to be more prepared for a general election he promised it would take place in November next year.
That decision will be more fulfilling to everyone, making his so-called roadmap to democracy a more meaningful, fair and open pathway.
But the NCPO order suggests that there are still imminent threats in returning full freedom to political parties. Without elaboration, the order states that the ban is needed to prevent "opportunists" from carrying out other types of political activities which can affect the current climate of peace and order and undermine the ongoing effort to forge reconciliation.
Another rationale of the order is that two organic laws governing the election of MPs and senators are not yet completed and still undergoing processes of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA). This last reason is the most incredible.
Should there be a need for those key activities to be halted awaiting the promulgation of the two organic laws tentatively planned for June, the regime's own law on political parties should have specified it, or at least Gen Prayut should have earlier issued an order on this matter back in October.
The claim on maintaining the reconciliation effort seems to be made out of the regime's own belief. Keeping the political ban in place will rather undermine reconciliation, pitting most political parties and the public against the NCPO.
Meanwhile, the security threat is the same card that has been overly played. There is a stark difference between holding legal political activities and organising movements which pose threats to public security. And the NCPO should allow the former while mobilising its resources to handle the latter.
All the reasons given in the order make it look like the regime is trying to build a credible case to support its refusal to lift the political ban. Unfortunately, it is not convincing.
What is more convincing is the NCPO's effort to make it more difficult for existing political parties to be more prepared and better compete in the election. For example, the order unnecessarily and questionably added a new layer to the administrative work, requiring that all members of existing parties must submit their letter to the political party leader within 30 days starting April 1 to reconfirm their intention to maintain the membership status. This part is a farce.
Any members who want to terminate their membership can just submit their resignation. Those who want to stay should not be required to undergo this new process.
With the tight timeframe given, established political parties risk losing some members.
Critics also have their point in suspecting that this is an attempt to "reset" political members, making some key party members defect to new political parties, especially a party that intends to support Gen Prayut to become a non-elected prime minister, a conditional arrangement allowed by the current charter.
Meanwhile, the order gives an advantage to new parties, allowing them a one-month head start over existing ones in updating their membership and register.
Gen Prayut needs to make his roadmap to the election a fair and credible process by lifting the political ban without the need to wait for the two organic laws and ensuring that sufficient time will be provided to political parties to prepare for the election.
