I’m not setting up party to support junta at election: Maj-Gen Songklod
Maj-General Songklod Thipparat on Monday rejected speculation that he was setting up a political party to support the junta ahead of the coming national election, saying he had not yet registered the party with the Election Commission.
The senior military officer said he had been focused on “volunteering”, apparently referring to the new organisation he had set up to work on volunteering to boost what he called “Thai Nation’s Power” – the party that he had said back in June he was planning to set up.
He conceded that he was part of the National Council for Peace and Order, having been working for the council under its committee for reform preparations for Thai people’s happiness.
Songklod said that as he was still receiving complaints from people during his work on the ground, he had come up with the idea of his new work in order to carry out his intention to undertake volunteering.
“I don’t work for politics, I’m not good at it,” he said. “I have not yet done anything about the setting up of a political party as speculated. I have no idea about it at all. Maybe, people now know me a lot [following the reform committee’s work on the ground], so they link me up with politics.”
The major-general retired from the Defence Ministry as a staff judge advocate in 2016.
He had worked as a chief of staff at the ministry’s permanent secretary office, and of the Internal Security Command Office.