By Thai Newsroom Reporters
LEGAL ACTION could possibly be taken against the election commissioners in the Constitutional Court due to their alleged failure to hold the 2024 senatorial election in an unbiased, honest and fair fashion, the Constitutional Court’s former justice Jaran Pakdeethanakul confirmed today (Sep.9).
The election commissioners could possibly be prosecuted in a single lawsuit to be filed via the Office of the Ombudsman to the Constitutional Court on charges of perpetrating misconduct and neglecting their legally-obliged duties, thus warranting a court sentence to terms in prison if they were finally found guilty of having evidently failed to hold the triple-tiered election for a total of 200 senators in an independent, clean and just manner and to do without hush-hush instructions from or capitulations to any outside powers, according to the former justice of the court.
Jaran was apparently referring to allegations that the commissioners, four of whom have been handpicked by an overwhelming majority of senators mostly being suspected of involvement in the vote-buying, bloc-vote rigging conspiracy, had illegitimately performed at the orders of those attached to or associated with the Bhumjaithai, core of the current coalition government surreptitiously directed by de facto party boss Newin Chidchob.
No matter if the election commissioners may or may not proceed with a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against a total of 229 suspects in the senatorial rigging plot including Bhumjaithai leader/Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Newin and several Bhumjaithai members of cabinet, a separate lawsuit could possibly be lodged via the Office of the Ombudsman to the Constitutional Court to prosecute the commissioners themselves on grounds of allegedly perpetrating misconduct and duty-negligence which had evidently streamlined the premeditated, electoral rigging conspiracy, the former justice pointed out.
The Constitutional Court could possibly not only rule the commissioners guilty as charged and deliver them jail terms but declare the complicated senatorial election null and void, given truthful, personal witnesses and pieces of factual evidence of such electoral riggings.
He made his comments in the wake of speculation that the commissioners would decide next Monday as to whether they may file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against all or some or none of those suspects in the senatorial rigging plot including 138 allegedly-Bhumjaithai-made senators and 91 Bhumjaithai members of cabinet, lawmakers and other politically connected persons.
The former justice said the organic law under the coup junta-designed constitution of 2017 pertaining to the senatorial election be entirely amended to put an end to the dishonest, unjust and unconstitutional contests which could possibly be designed and masterminded by illegitimate, outside powers.
No constituents had been by any means involved in the senatorial election two years ago with all contestants picking winning candidates from among themselves in a triple-tiered, electoral mode ranging from district and provincial levels to national level, unlike previous races where senatorial candidates were directly voted into the legislative branch by the constituents nationwide.
If the case was formally accepted for consideration by the Supreme Court, the prime minister plus a dozen Bhumjaithai ministers and lawmakers among the 91 suspected partisan members and associated elements as well as the 138 suspected senators could possibly be suspended by court from performing their legislative or executive duties pending a court ruling.
If finally found guilty as charged, those suspects could be immediately deprived of their positions in government and parliament and banned from assuming political positions at any levels for a number of years whilst their party as a whole could possibly be dissolved with all their executive board members being similarly prohibited.
The suspected senators had been allegedly hired and manipulated by prominent partisan members and little-known operatives of the “Blue” regime with a thinly-veiled, surreptitious design to take tight controls over the legislative and executive branches as well as “independent” agencies such as the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Constitutional Court and Election Commission. In political jargon, the “Blue” shade refers to Newin’s ultra-conservative, ruling camp.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Election Commission logo overlaid on a meeting at Parliament. Photo – Naewna
Insert: Former justice Jaran Pakdeethanakul. Photo – Bank of Thailand
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