From right, Yuwadee Chirathivat, president of Central Department Store, Nidsinee Chirathivat, executive vice president for merchandising, and Sirikate Chirakitti, executive vice president for store operations, join a press conference yesterday to unveil a

An attempt to revive the defunct Thai Rak Thai Party faced a major setback yesterday after the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) delayed approving a government draft bill to lift a ban on registering new political parties.

The assembly voted 139-4 to accept the government-sponsored bill.

However, the NLA rejected a Cabinet proposal to consider the bill in three consecutive readings in a single day by 122 to 31 votes. The delay means the period of the ban would still be valid until the NLA approves a revised version, which is not expected for at least a month.

Instead of giving the green light to the bill, an NLA majority approved setting up a 15-member ad-hoc panel to vet the draft. Its members include representatives of the Election Commission (EC), the government and the NLA.

NLA speaker Meechai Ruchupan yesterday lashed out at unnamed ministers for "serious interference" in lobbying the assembly to rush the amendment to Announcement 15, which prohibits political party-related activities and registering of new parties.

The bill aims to amend Announcement 15 issued by the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR), which prohibits political party-related activities and registering of new parties after the coup of September 19.

Those who backed the delay claimed the bill could pave the way for struggling ex-TRT heavyweights to regroup and regain legitimacy to rise against the junta.

TRT was dissolved by the Constitution Tribunal on May 30, while its major rival, the Democrat Party, survived.

The majority of NLA members wanted to add a condition that will block former members of TRT from registering a new political party under its old name.

NLA member Praphan Khoonmee said a clause to prevent ex-TRT members registering a new party under the defunct name should be added to the bill. Otherwise the Constitution Tribunal's ruling would mean nothing in practice, he said.

"Thai Rak Thai has been ruled a shameful party by the tribunal," he said. "It should not be revived in any circumstances."

An EC member should sit on the ad-hoc panel to improve the bill to prevent an attempted TRT revival, he said.

NLA member Kamnoon Sittisamarn said the bill could not be considered separately from the current political situation.

To give ex-TRT members room to register a new party under the defunct name, he believed, would fuel their momentum to regain legitimacy and power, which has been severely undermined by the dissolution verdict.

"Those key Thai Rak Thai members will turn to their voters and say 'See, we can still use the Thai Rak Thai brand. Those rebels cannot harm us,'" Kamnoon said.

Prasong Soonsiri, an NLA member and chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, agreed with the government allowing political groups to carry out activities [including registering new parties].

"However, lifting the ban and not taking the TRT dissolution seriously would add more trouble to the current situation," he said.

TRT was disbanded but Prasong believed their key members had activated a plot to overthrow the Council for National Security and the government.

Earlier this month, the Cabinet lifted the ban on party activities, but asked the Council of State to study whether it could lift the ban on party registration.

TRT leader Chaturon Chaisang attacked the junta and the government for deliberately slowing the process to allow party registration.

He said the junta wanted to make ex-TRT members so unprepared that they could not win the next election, scheduled for November.

Weerayut Chokchaimadon

The Nation