Bangkok: Chai affirms that the Democrat Party is 100% united and there are no hidden deals to join the government. "Chai???" affirmed that the Democrat Party is 100% united, with no hidden deals to join the government. Everything must be a party resolution. He declared that the party is ready to fulfill all roles, whether in government or opposition.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Chaichana Dechdecho, a Democrat Party MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat, gave an interview after reporting to the Office of the Secretary-General of the House of Representatives, stating that the registration schedule for constituency MPs was already set for today. List MPs will register on March 6th. He emphasized that despite the separate registration, the Democrat Party remains united. He stated that with 21 votes, the party and its leader will follow whatever decision is made. He urged against viewing the lack of separate registrations as a political issue, emphasizing that the party works as a team and maintains unity within the Democrat Party.
When asked if there was any pre-arranged deal involved in reporting for duty today, Mr. Chaichana stated that he could confirm there was no secret deal. Everything was discussed openly and decided according to party resolution. He mentioned that Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, a list MP and leader of the Democrat Party, had previously stated that 60% of the party's votes, over 2 million votes, came from the South. All MPs are elected by the people, and it's necessary to ask the voters in the constituencies for their opinions. Most people in Nakhon Si Thammarat who commented on his Facebook page supported joining the government. However, personally, his decision depends on the party's resolution, which must come from the MPs and the executive committee. Joining the government requires an invitation from the leading party, but that hasn't happened yet.
When asked whether having public support for joining the government but a different party resolution would be considered going against the party's decision, Mr. Chaichana said that defying the party's resolution is impossible. Whatever the party's resolution is, that's what it must be. Joining the government requires an invitation from the leaders of the coalition parties; we can't just join unilaterally. He added that the party leader has mentioned three conditions set by the Democrat Party, and if those conditions are met, then they will consider whether or not to join.
When asked whether the Democrat Party's 21 votes would be unified in any direction, whether in the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the Prime Minister, Mr. Chaichana stated that he firmly believed there was no reason to go in any other direction. "We must go in the same direction, and the 21 votes of the Democrat Party must be used to push forward policies in Parliament, including disability allowances, home repairs for the disabled, free education, and others. I confirm that everything is 100% unified."
When asked if the Democrat Party would be fully prepared to scrutinize the government if it were in opposition, Mr. Chaichana said, "We've been in both opposition and government before, so we're ready to work on both sides and will do our 100%. Therefore, there's no need to worry. On March 6th, the party leader will lead the list MPs to report for duty, while the constituency MPs will return to their constituencies. If I'm not busy, I'll be accompanying the party leader."