The Election Commission (EC) is scheduled to meet next week to review political parties' populism policies and determine if any of them are in breach of the election law, which can lead to a party dissolution.
EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said 70 political parties contesting the May 14 general election had submitted details of their campaign policies as required by Section 57 of the organic law governing political parties.
He said if any of these policies violate Section 73(5), the EC can initiate a probe that can result in a party's dissolution.
Section 73(5) of the law on the election of MPs prohibits election candidates from using deception, coercion, threats or slander to mislead voters.
Mr Ittiporn said the EC would consider three elements when examining campaign policies, namely the amounts of money involved, whether the sources of the donations stood to benefit, and the potential impacts and risks associated with their implementation.
He added the agency would seek expert opinion when reviewing populist policies.
Political activist Srisuwan Janya on Friday lodged a complaint with the EC asking it to look into the Pheu Thai Party's campaign pledges, especially the digital wallet programme.
Of all the proposals floated by the 70 parties, the 10,000-baht digital wallet policy is the most controversial and the least viable, he said, adding the scheme, according to Pheu Thai, would require as much as 560 billion baht.
He said the party's clarification on the sources of funds to implement the programme was vague, and the EC must investigate if the party was in breach of the election law.
"I don't see how it can be implemented without borrowing, and the party doesn't say anything about borrowing to fund the scheme," said Mr Srisuwan.
The activist called on the EC to complete the review before the election, saying if the policy is against the law, it must order the party to stop using it in the campaign material or discussion.
Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a list candidate for the Palang Pracharath Party, also petitioned the EC to investigate whether Pheu Thai had complied with the law on a number of issues.
In particular, Mr Ruangkrai de- manded the EC determine if key party figures violated the law at a rally this year by telling voters to accept vote-buying cash from other parties while marking their ballots for Pheu Thai.
