Political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana has filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) about Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra being “manipulated” by her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, as well as the legitimacy of her resignations as a director of 20 companies.
Fourteen of the 20 companies in question are based in Bangkok, three are located in Lamphun, two are in Pathum Thani, including the Alpine Golf Club, and one is in Nakhon Ratchasima.
All of the resignations, which took effect immediately, were submitted by Ms Paetongtarn on Aug 15, the day before the House of Representatives voted her in as prime minister.
Mr Ruangkrai asked how she was able to submit so many resignations by herself in a single day.
He said he asked Ms Paetongtarn to show proof of her resignations, but she refused to do so.
The other matter concerns the moral issue of Ms Paetongtarn letting her father “control” her as prime minister, something Thaksin insists he has not done.
The Organic Act on Political Parties states that “no political party is permitted to allow or perform any action to allow any other person who is not a member to control, dominate or direct the activities of a political party in a way that shall cause the political party and its members to either directly or indirectly be dependent”.
Mr Ruangkrai, a former senator and member of the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), lately exiled to the opposition, has a long history of looking under legal rocks and filing petitions against top political figures.
His most famous scalp was that of the late Samak Sundaravej, who was forced to step down as prime minister for receiving an honorarium from a TV cooking show.
More recently, Mr Ruangkrai pursued Pita Limjaroenrat, of the former head of the Move Forward Party, for holding shares in a long-defunct broadcasting company, saying that disqualified him from running for election. Mr Pita was cleared in that case.
