Thailand’s Election Commission has officially asked the Pheu Thai Party to clarify the source or sources of the funding required to implement its manifesto policy to distribute 10,000 baht to the e-wallets of each Thai citizen who is 16 or older if it is in government after the May 14th general election.
According to Pol Maj Nattawat Sangiamsak, EC Deputy Secretary-General, the EC has sent notifications to all parties requiring them to clarify the sources of funding for policies contained in their election manifestos which involve the payment of money to the people.
He said that he expects the Pheu Thai Party to respond to the EC’s notification soon, adding that any party, not just Pheu Thai, which fails to provide the requested clarifications may face criminal and civil litigation, including a one-time fine of up to 500,000 baht, plus a daily fine of 10,000 baht until the party fulfils their obligation.
The policy of distributing 10,000 baht to every Thai citizen over 16 was floated by Srettha Thavisin, one of Pheu Thai’s three prime ministerial candidates and advisor to Paetongtarn Shinawatra, head of Pheu Thai “Family”, over a week ago.
The policy has come under heavy criticism from other parties and critics, claiming it extreme populism aimed at currying favour among voters.
