PPRP Asks Election Commission To Launch Probe Into Senior Opposition Leader

The Bangkok Post reports that Palang Pracharath Party's (PPRP) list-MP candidate Ruuangkrai Leekitwattana accused Move Forward Party's (MFP) leader and prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat of holding shares in a media company iTV Plc and called on the Election Commission to disqualify him from running in the upcoming general election.

• The PPRP MP said that he was about to file a request to the Election Commission to launch a formal probe into Pita to check his eligibility for contesting the election. Thai constitution prohibits shareholders of media companies from being candidates.
• Pita tweeted that he was "not worried about the case because the shares are not mine. It's a family heritage, and I'm the manager of that. I informed the National Anti-Corruption Commission about this a long time ago."
• The anti-junta MFP is a de facto successor to the Future Forward Party, which captured 17.6% of the vote in the 2019 election, becoming the third-largest party in the lower house before being disbanded by a controversial court order.
• The pro-military PPRP submitted its request to the Election Commission at a time when Pita's popularity is on the rise, with the latest NIDA opinion poll showing that he surpassed Pheu Thai's Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the favourite PM candidate.
• Paetongtarn admitted earlier this week that the MFP is a potential coalition partner of Pheu Thai, the main opposition party. However, she said that any alliance is conditional on Pheu Thai controlling major ministries and nominating the PM.