Thai election agency to probe prime minister front runner Pita: Report

BANGKOK – Thailand’s Election Commission will investigate if

prime-minister front runner Pita Limjaroenrat

violated an election rule on candidacy after earlier throwing out some complaints against him, according to local media reports.

The six-member election panel’s decision to launch its own probe came after its unanimous vote on Friday to throw out three complaints previously lodged against Mr Pita, the Bangkok Post reported, citing a person it did not identify.

A representative for the office of the Election Commission told Bloomberg News he could not confirm reports of the probe.

Complaints have been lodged against Mr Pita that

alleged he was holding shares in a media company,

urging the election body to seek a constitutional court ruling if he should be disqualified as a member of Parliament and prime-minister candidate under the charter.

The Election Commission will probe if Mr Pita applied to contest in the

May 14 general election

despite knowing he was not eligible, which would breach Section 151 of Thailand’s election law, according to local media.

Applicants are forbidden from holding shares in a media company under Thai laws.

The penalties for breaching the law are imprisonment of up to 10 years and a ban from politics for 20 years.

Criminal procedures usually involve many steps and can take months or years, and Mr Pita could be confirmed as a Member of Parliament in the meantime when the Election Commission certifies election results by the July 13 deadline.

The investigation is the latest hurdle for a coalition of pro-democracy parties in their attempt to take power after sweeping the May election, prompting jittery investors to dump Thai stocks, bonds and the currency. Mr Pita’s bloc is seeking the backing of enough lawmakers to ensure his selection as premier in a joint sitting of the lower and upper houses of Parliament.

The original share-ownership petition by political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana sought Mr Pita’s disqualification for his alleged ownership of 42,000 shares in long-defunct ITV.

The leader of the Move Forward Party denied the allegations last week, saying the firm had not operated in media since 2007, and he did not own the shares but only managed them as part of an estate left behind by his father. He said he transferred the shares to avoid the company being “revived” as a media firm to disqualify him later.

Mr Pita’s path to the premiership is rocky, with the Election Commission probe and shareholding complaints that could be refiled after he takes office as a lawmaker, said Professor Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, an academic and former election commissioner.

“If the Election Commission files a criminal complaint and even if it’s still in process, that is enough excuse for the senators who are opposed to voting for Pita as prime minister to insist on not doing so,” said Prof Somchai. “The weapons of war are being brought out to the battlefield.” BLOOMBERG