People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will seek a court injunction blocking the removal of billboards with “animal” politicians, its spokesman Panthep Pourpongpan said today.
The PAD’s legal team was checking pertinent provisions before petitioning either the Central Administrative Court or the Civil Court to launch an emergency inquiry into the issue.
The PAD is furious following the Election Commission (EC)’s ruling on Wednesday to ban the “No” vote and animal-headed politicians billboards introduced by the PAD, saying these violated election laws. Its commissioners voted 4-1 to have the “No” vote billboards removed for violating the electoral law and the cleanliness ordinance.
The PAD and the Heaven and Earth Party on Wednesday unveiled a second batch of 5,000 billboards designed to promote the “no vote” campaign in Bangkok. The billboards feature candidates with buffalo, crocodile and tiger heads, as well as caricatures of Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Meanwhile, EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond reiterated today that the EC ruling did not touch on the message but the size and quantities of the billboards.”
The EC has authorised the city administration to remove the billboards, which failed to meet the standard set under the campaign regulations, he said.
The ban applied to the first batch of billboards sprouting up around the capital and the EC has appointed a panel to scrutinise whether the second batch of billboards would comply with the campaign rules, he said.
The first batch of billboards depicted the notion of running from a tiger into the clutches of a crocodile. They showed a tiger-headed candidate in blue, the colour of the Democrat Party, and a crocodile-headed candidate in red, signifying the red shirts.
Full Article: PAD roars over billboard ban.