On 30 – 31 January 2014, DPM Phongthep gave one-on-one interviews with numbers of  international press at the Permanent Secretary Office of Ministry of Defense.

Gist of DPM’s response to questions related to the general elections on 2 February 2014 as follows:

Will election blocking and violence occur again on the general election day? How do you ensure what happened during advance election last Sunday will not be repeated?

- The Election Commission has the power to instruct any security agency to provide personnel in support of the election process, especially inside polling stations. What happened during the advance election was that the protesters blocked entrances to the polling stations. We have learned from this experience. The Government will do our best to provide support for the election to be conducted in a peaceful manner. I don’t expect any serious violence to occur. I am certain that we will be able to maintain peace, law and order.
- The Election Commission has the responsibility to ensure that the seats of the House of Representatives are filled, so that the new Parliament can start its work and the new Cabinet formed. According to the law, the Election Commission has to hold re-elections within 30 days of the general election date in any constituency that has a vacant seat. The Government cannot do anything but render its support.

There is some expectation that it will take 3-4 months to fill up those empty seats. What is your take on that?

- The Election Commission can speed up their pace. In 1997, there were three elections in the same month. History indicates that the Election Commission can finish their task in a short period of time.

Whether or not the up-coming election is legitimate?

- There are 53 parties contesting this election, with one deciding not to. We are playing by the rules, and a constitution that we did not have any part in drafting. The elections on 2 February will reveal the will of the Thai people.