Royal campaigning

In a post at Thai Enquirer’s Facebook page, it summarizes a recent question: Sulak Questions Whether Bhumjaithai Should Be Dissolved.

Prominent scholar Sulak Sivaraksa has questioned whether the Bhumjaithai Party should face dissolution, citing what he described as a possible violation of election law linked to Acting Prime Minister and party leader Anutin Charnvirakul’s recent royal audience which came one day before the Feb 8 election.

In a social media post, Sulak referred to Anutin’s visit to Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall at Dusit Palace on February 7, where the King and the Queen granted a royal audience to various delegations. At 6.10 pm, Anutin — in his capacity as acting prime minister — led senior Finance Ministry executives to present proceeds from the sale of commemorative coins for royal use at the King’s discretion. He also presented commemorative coins, commemorative medals and the book “Coins of the Reign of King Rama X” to Their Majesties.

Sulak said the act of presenting the proceeds was within Anutin’s rights. However, he argued that appearing on television one day before the election constituted unlawful campaigning, as election regulations prohibit campaigning on the eve of polling day. He also objected to the reported reference to the monarchy during the broadcast, saying the King should not be invoked in a political context.

Sulak stressed that the monarch was not at fault, but instead blamed the Election Commission for allowing the programme to air nationwide. He said the party should be dissolved in accordance with the law, drawing comparisons to the previous dissolutions of the Future Forward Party and the Move Forward Party, and urged authorities not to evade enforcement.

The photo of this pre-election campaigning – a photo that was widely distributed by state sources and by others – is from Khaosod’s X page.

With all the attention to the Election Commission’s botched – maybe rigged – election management, this story of yet another royal intervention in politics has not received the attention it deserves. Vajiralongkorn and his advisers know that this meeting and its dissemination is campaigning for the conservatives and their gangster party.