Thanathorn says he’s confident he won’t be penalised by the EC

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of Future Forward Party, says he’s confident he won’t be penalised by the Election Commission over allegations he breached the Constitution and the election by holding shares in a media company, V Luck Media, when registering for the March 24 election.

Thanathorn says he will submit his defence with the commission by next Monday and insists on his innocence.

Thanathorn is dismissing the possibility that he could be penalised by the EC by being barred from running in elections for one year, leading to his being disqualified as an MP.

The commission sent Thanathorn a formal notice on Wednesday that he was charged for breaching the Constitution and the MP election law after he was allegedly found to be in possession of 675,000 shares in the media firm when he registered his election candidacy. Thanathorn was given seven days to respond to the charge.

The Constitution and the MPs Election Act forbid poll candidates from being proprietors or share-holders of media companies. Thanathorn insisted that he had transferred all the shares to his mother prior to his candidacy registration and dismissed the charge against him as part of what he described as “politics of personal destruction.”

The Future Forward Party came in third place, behind Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharat, and ahead of the Democrats, in votes from the March 24 poll. The party was only formed in the last year and put up the fiery 41 year old as its leader and prime ministerial candidate.