The activist group pushing for an early election today threatened to escalate its campaign if the Election Commission fails to announce an election date by this coming Friday.
It plans to call another rally at the Democracy Monument on Saturday to pressure the EC and the government to hold the promised election as early as possible.
The group said in a statement released today that its demand for an official announcement of the election date since its first public rally on January 8 has not been met and now the tentative date set for February 24 as promised by the government cannot be realized.
“This amounts to a postponement of the election and the breaking of a promise by the NCPO (National Council for Peace and Order) for the fifth time with the international community being the witness,” said the group in its statement.
“We are losing our patience with the trickery and all the excuses as well as the slander to muzzle the media and the people who are demanding their basic rights,” said the pro-election group.
The group has demanded that the election must not be put off beyond March 10 as it would cause the EC to miss the 150-day deadline and thus putting the election at risk if being ruled being null and void.
The group announced that they would not allow the election to be scuttled although there have been attempts to stop it from taking place. They also vowed to oppose any attempts by the junta to stay on in power.
Meanwhile, NCPO spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree accused politicians who lashed out at the army chief for his criticism of the pro-election group.
He said that the army chief, General Apirat Kongsompong, wished to see the country in peace on the occasion of the coronation ceremony during May 4-6 as he was put in charge of maintaining peace and order.
The spokesman claimed that the majority of the pubic understood the reason for the election to be postponed and the reason for smooth proceedings for the coronation ceremony.
He suggested that people who oppose the postponement of the election appeared to be “professional protesters”.
