EC sets January 19 deadline for submitting budget-related campaign policies
Thailand’s Election Commission has told parties to submit budget-related campaign policies by January 19, warning of fines up to 500,000 baht plus 10,000 baht per day.
The Election Commission (EC) Office on Thursday instructed political parties to submit campaign policies that involve budget spending for review by January 19, warning that failure to comply could result in fines of up to 500,000 baht.
The directive was issued during a meeting with representatives of political parties that have fielded candidates for the February 8 general election. The session also covered campaign-support guidelines and the EC’s plan to organise a central stage for parties to debate their platforms.
Only spending-related policies must be submitted
Apiwat Roengsap, director of the Office of Political Party Affairs at the EC Office, told the meeting that under Section 57 of the Organic Act on Political Parties, parties are required to submit only policies that involve spending. Policies that do not require a budget do not need to be submitted.
Warning over fines for late or non-compliance
Apiwat urged parties to submit the relevant policies before January 19 to allow time for review and corrections, warning that last-day submissions may leave insufficient time to amend errors.
He said non-compliance is punishable by a fine of up to 500,000 baht, plus an additional 10,000 baht per day until the requirements are fully met.
Parties also told to submit primary voting information
The meeting also discussed reporting requirements related to primary voting, which political parties must submit to the EC. Thailand currently has 60 registered political parties.
Apiwat asked parties to send the information promptly, noting that only a small number have done so so far.
Policy debate groupings based on constituency candidates
The EC divided parties into three groups for policy debates on the central stage, based on the number of constituency candidates fielded.
Group 1 (300–400 constituencies): five parties
- Democrat Party and People’s Party: 400 constituencies each
- Pheu Thai Party: 397
- Bhumjaithai Party: 394
- Kla Tham Party: 333
Group 2 (200–299 constituencies): two parties
- Setthakit Party: 263
- United Thai Nation Party: 249
Group 3: 42 parties fielding candidates in fewer than 200 constituencies.
The EC also said representatives of the 60 parties drew lots to determine the order in which their policies will be disseminated through EC-provided media channels.
Airtime allocation: January 26–31 ads, February 2–6 policy debates
The EC set a broadcast framework of 10 days, with 60 minutes per day, within the window of 5.00am to 1.00am, split into:
- Election campaign advertising: January 26–31
- Policy debate programmes on national administration: February 2–6
The EC said broadcasters do not need to air the content at the same time, but it must be broadcast within the time window set by the commission.
