Chart Pattana, Kla call joint press conference, sparking merger rumours
The Chart Pattana and Kla parties have announced a joint press conference on Friday, leading to speculation of a merger of the two parties.
Chart Pattana Party spokeswoman Yaowapa Boorapolchai and Kla Party spokesman Sanyakorn Singhaweratham sent a Line app message to reporters on Thursday afternoon that the two parties would hold a joint press conference at 10.30am on Friday.
The two spokespersons said in the message: “At 10.30am on September 2, Suwat Liptapanlop, Chart Pattana chairman, and Kla leader Korn Chatikavanij will jointly hold a political press conference at house No. 333 on Rajavithi Soi 20 in Bankok’s Dusit district.”
Sources from the two parties said they would announce solutions that the two parties had jointly agreed on for solving the country’s economic and political crises.
The sources said the joint press conference would be the formal start of political cooperation between the two parties for boosting the potential of both Chart Pattana and Kla at the next general election. The current House of Representatives is scheduled to finish its four-year term in March, after which a general election will be held.
A source from the Chart Pattana said the party’s MPs have not been informed about the joint press conference and the political “cooperation” and had not been told to attend the press conference. Only core leaders would attend the event, the source said.
Political observers expect the joint press conference to be the formal start for the two parties to work towards an eventual merger, which would have to be formally ratified by the two parties’ executive boards.
Earlier, Suwat told reporters that he was ready to join a joint press conference with the Kla and he was confident his party would win more House seats in the future.
