The Bhumjaithai Party is asking the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) to clarify an article it released recently, which said the party's campaign promises would place the most burden on the state's coffers compared to other parties' pledges.
Party registrar, Supachai Jaisamut, said the TDRI article was based on distorted information, which could hurt the party's chances of winning the election, so the institute must immediately move to rectify the problem.
He said the party would submit an official complaint to the TDRI to urge it to correct the article, which was posted on the TDRI's website, in order to prevent any misunderstanding.
Mr Supachai went on to say that the party's 21 campaign pledges are meant to ease the public's financial burden by increasing their income, without putting pressure on the country's treasury.
"All of our policies were developed by an academic team in an effort to ensure they won't undermine the country's financial discipline. We are closely working with the Innova Foundation and its economic team to ensure our policies are practical and financially viable," he said.
"The TDRI is a prestigious agency, so any information it puts out should be based on facts. However, we've found some inaccuracies that could harm our voter base, which we want the TDRI to correct."
The TDRI article, which was based on the political parties' own report to the Election Commission, said Bhumjaithai's pledges will cost the most, as they require about 1.86 trillion baht to finance, followed by Pheu Thai (1.77 trillion baht), the Move Forward Party (1.28 trillion baht), Palang Pracharath (996 billion baht), the Democrats (685 billion baht) and the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party (250 billion baht).
Mr Supachai said the TDRI shouldn't have included the 1.7-trillion-baht southern land bridge project as one of its pledges, as the project will be carried out under a public-private partnership model, as is common with state megaprojects. He added the southern land bridge project would generate 1.3 trillion baht for the economy.
Bhumjaithai is also aiming to transform the country into a health and wellness hub to generate more income for the country. The revenue, he said, will go towards improving the living conditions of Thailand's senior citizens.
