BANGKOK, 2 January 2014 Political parties have requested that the Election Commission extend the registration period for MP candidates in the constituencies that encountered protesters’ blockade of registration venues.
According to Somchai Sisutthiyakon, an election commissioner overseeing poll administration, the Phuea Thai Party has submitted 4 proposals to the EC regarding ways to solve the protesters’ obstruction of the candidate registration process in 8 southern provinces. Mr. Somchai said the EC would deliberate the proposals, although personally he viewed that the proposed methods would affect the election schedule. He also disclosed the EC had made appointments with executives of the Phuea Thai and the Democrat Parties to talk about mediating the political situation, and he believed the talks would yield a solution that allowed for improvement of the situation.
Representatives from various political parties proposed on Wednesday that the EC extend the registration period for candidates, and to reserve a candidate’s right to run in the general election if the candidate had filed a report with police detailing his/her inability to register due to protesters’ blocking of registration venues. The party representatives also called for the EC to stringently deal with those who obstructed election officials in their work.
