The Election Commission (EC) is being urged to order a recount of the final senatorial voting, which took place on Wednesday, before the official results are announced.
Klanarong Chantik, chair of the acting Senate Committee on charter-mandated Independent Organisations, has sent an urgent letter to the EC Chairman, Itthiporn Boonpracong, urging the EC to invoke Section 59 of the Senator Election Act to order a recount, to clear the air over widespread allegations of irregularities throughout the entire voting process, from district to national level ballots.
He cited several examples of alleged irregularities, such the qualifications of several candidates representing background groups, the ‘hiring’ of candidates by politically-interested groups, that numerous candidates did not cast votes for themselves, that some candidates receiving unusually high numbers of votes and bribes being offered for voting for specific candidates.
A former member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Klanarong said that such alleged irregularities contradict the spirit of the Constitution, that elections must be fair and just, otherwise the public may lack faith in the new Senate.
Meanwhile, five failed candidates jointly submitted a petition today to the EC, calling for an investigation into the “suspicious incidents” noted throughout the entire election process.
The group pointed to the way some groups of candidates dressed alike, making them easily distinguishable. They also noted that the EC did not check the backgrounds of the candidates vis-a-vis the groups they represented.
