Thai Raksa Chart vows to keep campaigning despite rejection of its PM candidate

Thai Raksa Chart vows to keep campaigning despite rejection of its PM candidate

By The Nation

Key leaders of Thai Raksa Chart Party on Tuesday vowed to continue campaigning for votes even though its decision to nominate Princess Ubolratana as its sole PM candidate was shot down. 

Appearing in public for the first time since last Friday, when he submitted the PM candidate nomination to Election Commission (EC), party leader Preechapol Pongpanit met the press by performing a “wai” above his head. 

“All our party members have accepted His Majesty the King’s command [that prohibits Ubolratana from entering politics],” he said. “We will heed this command with all loyalty to His Majesty and to the Royal Family.” 

He also said that his party will show no opposition to the EC’s decision to disqualify its PM nomination. 

Princess Ubolratana is the elder sister of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn and the eldest child of late King Rama IX. Though she relinquished her royal titles nearly five decades ago when she married an American, the royal command said she was still a member of the Royal Family and hence should stay above politics. 

Chaturon Chaisang, chair of Thai Raksa Chart’s strategic committee, said in a comment on Facebook on Tuesday that he does not believe the party will be dissolved easily.

“Who says ‘fleas jump out of dying dogs?’ But if it is really [dissolved], I will stay till the end,” he posted. 

However, in an earlier post on Tuesday, Chaturon said that he did not participate in the submission of Ubolratana’s nomination last Friday and would not express an opinion. “But when I saw my political friends saying that they were ‘really happy’, I became very concerned,” he said. 

Meanwhile, party members showed up at the party headquarters on Tuesday to attend an executive meeting. Preechapol said the meeting was being held to determine the direction the party’s campaigning would take in the upcoming elections. 

“We cannot stop solving people’s problems. We are now very motivated,” he added. 

The party was initially scheduled to hold an executive meeting and a press conference on Monday. However, it was later revealed that there were too few members to form a quorum, so the meeting had to be postponed.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30363983

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