By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE PEOPLE’S will shortly file a criminal lawsuit against the Election Commission on duty-negligence and misconduct charges, resulting in the polling agency’s alleged failure to hold a clean and fair election due to the questionable existence of barcodes and QR codes on voting ballots, People’s leader Nattapong Ruengpanyawut confirmed today (Feb.23).
The People’s has been compiling pieces of evidence in pursuit of the lawsuit to be lodged in the Criminal Court for Corruption & Misconduct against all election commissioners and their secretary-general in alleged violation of Section 157 of the Criminal Code pertaining to their negligence of duties to hold a clean and fair election whilst perpetrating misconduct, given the barcodes and QR codes printed on the voting ballots at the cost of the voters’ secrecy during the nationwide election, according to the People’s leader.
If finally judged guilty as charged either by the Criminal Court for Corruption & Misconduct or the Central Administrative Court or the Constitutional Court, the Feb.8 election would probably be declared null and void, thus obliging the polling agency to hold a new election in the foreseeable future.
Other individuals have earlier filed similar cases against those commissioners chaired by Narong Klanwarin and the polling agency’s secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee in the Central Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court via the Office of the Ombudsman.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the Criminal Court would also judge the accused as guilty of the duty-negligence and misconduct charges, which would probably warrant legal penalties with terms in prison.
In addition, the total of ballots were allegedly found to outnumber that of the people who had registered at the polls whilst an unbecoming inequality was reported between the total of ballots for constituency-based mode and those for party-listed mode, fueling a widespread, evident suspicion to the extent that many referees at voting units may have been hired by rogue contestants to rig the votes in their undue favour.
The highly-contentious election saw the ultra-conservative Bhumjaithai, surreptitiously steered by de facto party boss Newin Chidchob, unexpectedly emerged as the largest elected party sweeping 193 MP seats, compared to the reformist People’s as the second largest elected party with 118 MP seats, the neo-conservative Pheu Thai under de facto party boss/inmate Thaksin Shinawatra as the third largest elected camp with 74 MP seats and the ultra-conservative Klatham under de facto party boss Thammanat Prompao as the fourth largest elected camp with 58 MP seats.
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Top and Front Page – People’s leader Nattapong Ruengpanyawut. Photos – Amarin TV
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