The Election Commission has asked activist lawyer Srisuwan Janya for more details to support the complaint he has submitted about the Pheu Thai Party’s policy of a 10,000-baht digital handout everyone aged 16 and over.
Mr Srisuwan said on Friday that he had received a letter from the EC instructing him to provide more information by May 11.
He has asked the EC to look into whether the digital wallet policy violates Section 73 of the election law, which prohibits poll candidates or other figures from promising to give voters assets, money or benefits. It also prohibits them from giving misleading information about policies.
The digital wallet scheme might also be in violation of other laws, he said, including the currency law, the state fiscal and financial discipline law and the emergency decree on digital asset businesses.
Pheu Thai, which is widely expected to win the most seats in the May 14 poll, has pledged that every Thai over 16 will receive a new bank savings account and a digital wallet connected to his or her ID.
The policy is aimed at stimulating spending in communities in the first six months from its launch, with the help of blockchain technology that ensures the money is spent within a 4-kilometre radius of a person’s residence in a bid to spur local economic activity.
Srettha Thavisin, a business executive and Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate, has said the scheme would cost 560 billion baht, all of which could be accounted for. He said it would help unleash an “economic tsunami” that would include 160 billion baht in additional tax revenue.
Mr Srisuwan argues that although Pheu Thai has already submitted the required details of the policy, including how much it will cost and where the money will come from, certain questions remain.
He questioned if some state projects such as a welfare scheme for low-income earners or monthly allowances for the elderly would be axed to allow for the reallocation of funds.
He also asked if the cost of the digital wallet would affect the implementation of other policies put forward by Pheu Thai. The party has outlined 70 policies it wants to put in place over four years, with an estimated total cost of 3 trillion baht, he noted.
Mr Srisuwan says the EC must examine the policy and rule if it is feasible and whether Pheu Thai has deliberately omitted crucial information.
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