Thailand: Pressure mounts for collusion probe

• Pressure has mounted on the Election Commission (EC) to look into whether the Pheu Thai, Pheu Tham and Pheu Chart parties are colluding to win the next election.
• It has been reported that Pheu Thai could potentially transfer its members and candidates over to Pheu Tham, which has already registered with the EC, according to pundits. It is widely seen as Pheu Thai’s “back-up party” in the event of a “political accident”, a reference to party dissolution.
• Jumping into the fray of criticism against collusion of parties, Suriyasai Katasila, co-founder of the Action Coalition for Thailand Party (ACT), said he was surprised to hear of Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam downplaying the reports that a political party may be bankrolling back-up parties.
• The Pheu Thai core members were accused of acting on Thaksin’s directives in managing the party’s affairs, which is an offence under the organic law on political parties.
• The ACT co-founder said he was concerned a remark expressed by someone important in the government could cause repercussions to the EC, which is probing the Pheu Thai in connection with Thaksin’s alleged dominance of it.
• The EC earlier said there was no strong evidence to confirm that Thaksin controls Pheu Thai.

External Link: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/1554994/pressure-mounts-for-collusion-probe