General Prayut Chan-o-cha is not required by law to step down as leader of the ruling junta if he is interested in entering politics ahead of the next general election, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha warned on Friday against vote-buying, saying that the practice would only lead to more corruption in government.

Parties will be permitted to campaign for the next general election from December, after the junta lifts restrictions on political activities, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Wednesday.

FEBRUARY 24 will be earliest date when the next general election can be held and full resumption of political activities will be allowed no earlier than 150 days before the vote, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday after meeting with the new Election Commission (EC) members.

Chalerm Yoobamrung, a key figure in the Pheu Thai Party, expressed confidence on Monday that the previously ruling party would win the next general election.

Elections will be held on February 24 at the earliest and by May 5 at the latest, Election Commission (EC) chairman Ittiporn Boonprakong said on Sunday.

POLITICIANS have warned junta-appointed legislators to think twice about amending the Election Commission (EC) law, as doing so could further delay the next general election.

Academic turned politician Anek Laothamatas is tipped to lead the right-leaning Action Coalition Party (ACT) into the next general election, according to sources.

Amid alleged attempts to woo former MPs into a pro-Prayut party’s fold, government figures on Monday rejected suspicion that the Cabinet retreat in the Northeast early next week was part of the bid to build up a political alliance ahead of the next general election.

The right-leaning Action Coalition of Thailand party (ACT) is willing to join hands with “all parties with the same ideology” ahead of the next general election, co-founder Suthep Thaugsuban said on Sunday.

KEY JUNTA figures yesterday shrugged off a Pheu Thai Party accusation that the government is using its power to gain an advantage ahead of the next general election.

The ruling junta will have the final say over whether to issue a special order to waive a legal requirement for political parties to hold primary voting to select their candidates ahead of the next general election, key junta figures said on Tuesday.

THE CHIEF Constitution drafter yesterday dismissed claims that the charter was written with a goal of paving the way for a government of “national unity” after the next general election.

PRIME MINISTER General Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged voters to look at “different political options” at the next general election as the ruling junta prepares to meet with politicians later this month.

THE ELECTION Commission (EC) will have to wait until the new law on the election of MPs becomes effective before it can designate constituencies for the next general election, the agency’s chief said yesterday.