July 12, 2024
BANGKOK – Some failed senatorial candidates filed a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) against seven Election Commission (EC) members and its secretary-general, accusing them of failing to make the election clean and fair.
The group was led by former assistant National Police chief, Pol Lt-General Khamrob Panyakaew.
Khamrob said he and other failed candidates believe the balloting was not clean or fair, so they decided to take their complaint to the CSD. He said he took action one day after the EC secretary-general Sawang Boonmee announced on Wednesday that the EC had voted 5:2 to endorse the 200 new senators.
Sawang said that as of Wednesday, no damning evidence had been found to show fraud had been committed by any of the 200 election winners, so the EC has decided to endorse their victory for now.
He also said that the EC has yet to carry out a lengthy probe into more than 40 cases, in which the winners were accused of collusion. The EC has enlisted help from police and other governmental agencies to dig up proof of alleged collusion before the EC can take action, Sawang added.
Khamrob said Sawang’s announcement itself proves there was fraud in the election, so the EC should not have rushed to endorse the winners.