Parit plans legal action against EC

Parit Wacharasindhu, deputy leader of Thailand's People's Party, intends to take legal action against election commissioners following a court ruling that affirmed citizens' ability to sue election commissioners over Senate election fraud. In a Facebook post, Parit highlighted that the Appeal Court's decision to allow citizens to sue election commissioners validates his argument that the fraud case should extend beyond the 77 individuals the Election Commission (EC) had planned to prosecute on September 14.

He accused the EC majority of ignoring three key issues: an alleged organized network, alleged connections to the Bhumjaithai Party, and the commission's past standards. The court's ruling, issued on November 6, stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Senate candidate Phongsakorn Tangkittrakul against seven election commissioners and EC Secretary-General Saeng Buamee.

The Appeals Court overturned a lower court's objection to the case's jurisdiction, ruling it fell under the Criminal Court's purview for Corruption and Misconduct Cases. Parit emphasized that citizens can now directly sue election commissioners for alleged misconduct, bypassing the National Anti-Corruption Commission. He plans to utilize the EC's written explanation of its September 14 resolution as evidence in his legal case against the commissioners once it becomes publicly available.

The commission is required to release this information by November 13, within 60 days of the vote. Parit called for the Supreme Court's Election Cases Division to investigate potential involvement of other high-ranking figures, including the prime minister, ministers, MPs, and party executives. Under Section 226 of the Thai Constitution, the court could investigate further evidence in the case against the 77 people and identify additional offenders if new evidence emerges.

The EC must submit its response to this request by January 12. Meanwhile, Chao Meekhuad, a lawyer and former Democrat deputy spokesman, criticized five commissioners who voted 5-2 to petition the Constitutional Court regarding the EC's authority. The Supreme Court rejected a request to postpone this decision on November 5 because the EC had not yet filed its petition.