No People’s Party branch in Nakhon Sawan: local election official

The deputy chief of Nakhon Sawan’s election office insisted on Monday that People’s Party had not registered a branch office in the northern province.

Winai Sukkasem, deputy election chief of Nakhon Sawan, told The Nation that his office had not yet received any application for the opening of a People’s Party branch. However, he admitted that it was possible that the party may have registered its branch with the Election Commission (EC) in Bangkok.

The 143 MPs from the now-dissolved Move Forward Party have taken the Thinkakhaochaowilai (“land of white crows and civilised people”) party as their new home and have changed its name to People’s Party.

On Sunday, Warong Dechgitvigrom, chairman of the Thai Phakdee Party, threatened to file a complaint with the EC seeking to disband the new party on grounds that it had failed to establish branches in all four regions of the country.

Warong said he checked the website of the EC Office and found that the Thinkakhaochaowilai Party had been registered in 2012. He added that he had learned from the EC’s website that this party only had three branches – two in the North and one in the Central region, with none in the South and Northeast.

However, People’s Party MP Amarat Chokepamitkul said on Sunday that her party had opened branches in four regions, and one was in Nakhon Sawan.

On Monday, a Nation reporter visited the site in Nakhon Sawan where Amarat indicated the branch was located and found a deserted building with the front door closed and no signboard in front.