Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said this morning that at least for now he sees no justification for the election scheduled for February 24 to be postponed despite the fact that the on-going mapping of election constituencies by the Election Commission is reported to be still in progress.
He said the EC has until December 11 to finish its task of mapping the poll constituencies and that no one from the government has disputed the February-24 timeline. He noted that questions whether or not the timing of the election will be honoured have come from “people in the opposite camp who are talking from their imagination.”
Several politicians and critics of the military junta have raised doubts whether or not the February 24 election date will be possible given the fact the EC has yet to complete registrations of all political parties and mapping of constituencies.
So far, EC officials have stood by the February timeline but admitted that the exact date for the election will be formally decided only after consultations with the government.
Wissanu last week laid out the timeline for political milestones that includes election on February 24 and the forming of a new government in May next year. But he insisted today that the suggested timeline doesn’t take into consideration whether or not the election can be postponed.
He added that he talked about the timeline because the government felt it was necessary to keep all stake-holders informed of what lied ahead.
