Move Forward deputy spokesman Karoonpon Tieansuwan said earlier reports in some media that the party would contest House seats in only 60 provinces due to its inability to hold primaries in other provinces were not true.
Karoonpon said Move Forward has finished primaries in all, except one province. He said the primary in the last province would be done within this month.
“I’m confident the party would be ready to field all 500 candidates before the candidacy registration date,” Karoonpon said.
The Election Commission has scheduled April 3-7 for registering candidates to contest in 400 constituencies and April 4-7 for registering candidates to vie for 100 party-list House seats.
Karoonpon also called on the EC to step up awareness campaigns for Thai expatriates and voters who want to cast their votes in advance to register for their voting rights.
Karoonpon said many Thai expats and voters, who want to cast advance votes, did not know that they were required to first register with the EC.
The EC has designated March 25 to April 9 for Thai expats and those who want to vote in advance to register.
Regarding the results of an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration among Bangkok voters, Karoonpon said the results showed that Thai voters wanted to see changes in the country.
The Nida Poll among 2,500 voters in Bangkok’s 50 districts from March 15 to 21 found that Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat is the most popular choice for prime minister, beating General Prayut Chan-o-cha and Pheu Thai Party’s Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Pita won the highest support from Bangkok voters with 25.08%, compared to Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s 24.20% and Prayut’s 18.24%.