Political parties come back to life as four-year freeze on activities ends

Life began returning to normal yesterday as longstanding political parties were allowed by the junta to update their party membership roles.
The parties had been forced to refrain from contacting their members since the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) issued its order banning political activities shortly after the coup in May 2014.
According to the NCPO No 53/2560 issued last December, existing political parties must ensure members confirm their party memberships between yesterday and April 30. Members who do not confirm their places during that short window will lose their status as party members. 
The day was indeed eventful. Yesterday, the Democrat Party began the membership reaffirmation process at its headquarters with hundreds of the party’s former MPs and supporters flocking to outdoor tents stationed in the party office’s parking lot.
The day began with party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva reaffirming his membership via the mobile application D-Connect and paying a Bt2,000 lifetime party fee. Other members can pay as little as Bt100 to maintain their membership on an annual basis.
At least 556 people paid for lifetime fees while another 752 people paid the annual amount, reaching Abhisit’s goal of collecting at least Bt1-million in seed funding on the first day.
The country’s oldest party, which has about 2.5 million members according to the roles late last year, invited members to confirm their membership by showing up with required documents in hand at more than 300 party offices across the country, including at the party headquarters in Bangkok. 
In remote areas and for elderly supporters, the party will send staff to visit members and collect the necessary documents, Democrat deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon said. 
The Election Commission (EC) requires confirmations to include a copy of members’ personal IDs and household registrations, along with a letter of confirmations with signatures on three copies and receipts for the membership fees. 
“The process is complicated, especially with the EC requiring all the documents be in a paper format. I wonder if we will have to carry a photocopying machine while we are visiting members? We are living in Thailand 4.0, aren’t we?” Ongart asked rhetorically, referring to the government’s initiative promoting technology in the economy.

Logistical issues
For its part, Pheu Thai Party is inviting former MPs and members to appear at its headquarters on Wednesday, coinciding with the party’s tradition of early celebrating the Thai New Year on that day. Members will pour water over the hands of senior figures and ask for a blessing, said Phumtham Wechayachai, acting secretary-general of Pheu Thai.
Phumtham Wechayachai
“It should not be regarded as a political gathering, which is still banned by the junta,” he said. 
Pheu Thai has about 120,000 current members, with Phumtham voicing concern that parties would lose a large portion of their membership given the short period of time allowed for membership confirmation. 
Bhum Jai Thai Party’s merit-making ceremony yesterday was held to bless its 10th anniversary as well as provide an opportunity for former MPs and members to reaffirm their status. The party currently has about 150,000 members nationwide.
Big parties’ call for members to confirm their status at party offices will not be expensive, but for a smaller party like Chart Thai Pattana, the cost of the operation will be higher. 
Bhum Jai Tai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul (left) receives a bouquet from Chart Thai Pattana Party adviser Varawut Silpa-archa (right) yesterday
With about 25,000 current members, Chart Thai Pattana has chosen to have its volunteers canvass door to door at targeted members’ residences in their main area of support, asking them to fill in a letter of confirmation, including paying the Bt100 fee, party adviser Varawut Silpa-archa said.
That approach will be used to target members in Suphan Buri, the party’s stronghold, where Varawut said he expected to get confirmation from all 4,000 members in the province. 
For members in other areas, Varawut said Chart Thai Pattana would send letters by the mail, incurring high postal expenses. 
The party has not figured out how members receiving the letter will pay the membership fee. The party will also be responsible for high costs incurred in sending receipts or other evidence of payments, Varawut added. The approach could cost the party Bt500,000 in total, he added.
“Simply speaking, from the Bt100 fee, we may get only Bt5 to Bt20 after deducting the operational costs,” he said. 
The burden remains to convince members to pay the Bt100 fee as well as institute a workable mechanism for paying it, Varawut said, adding that especially for people living in provinces, Bt100 would be a considerable expense.
Such methods use new technology to transfer money on the Internet or mobile banking, which could be a barrier for some party supporters. Varawut said he was concerned that most of his party’s supporters lived in the provinces and would find it too inconvenient to go to banks or lacked smartphones to transfer money via PromptPay. 
The Democrat Party recently launched a new mobile phone application that allows existing members to confirm their membership electronically, including transferring the membership fees through banks. However, the EC has yet to allow the use of the app.