Illustrative image (Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com)Bangkok (VNA) - Major political parties in Thailand on April 1 began theprocess of reconfirming their memberships and resumed official contact with theirmembers for the first time since the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) issued a ban onpolitical activity following the coup d'état in May 2014.
The Democrat Party, the oldest party in Thailand, hosted an eventat its headquarters in Bangkok on April 1 to update the list of its members.Right on the first day, the party collected more than one million baht (32,000USD) in membership fee.
The Democrat Party currently has around 2.5 million members andmore than 300 representative offices across the country.
Democrat Party Secretary General Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is also aformer prime minister, announced the party’s progamme of action, towards aso-called “new era”.
Abhisit reaffirmed that he does not support Prime Minister PrayutChan-o-cha assuming his post again in the next term and Democrat Party members mustobserve this principle.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai party also called on its members to registerat the party’s headquarters in Bangkok and in provinces. The party is planningto hold an unofficial event on April 4 to announce its next moves.
An informed party source said the Pheu Thai party would call ageneral meeting once the NCPO lifts the ban on political activity.
Other political parties such as Bhum Jai Thai and Chart ThaiPattana have also been re-gathering their members and issued statements on theirpolitical standpoints ahead of the election.
Under the regulations, political parties are permitted to verifytheir memberships and must complete the registration of their members andsubmit to the Election Commission (EC) by the end of this month.-VNA
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