Senator demands probe by EC into irregularities in elections for Senate

Concerns raised include suspicions about the establishment of candidate groups for political gain, discrepancies in qualifications and prohibitions across the 20 occupational groups, and the possibility of candidates being hired to run for the benefit of specific political factions. 

Additionally, there are issues regarding individuals voting for themselves in large numbers and a number of candidates receiving unusually high votes. There is also evidence of extensive gatherings and meetings among candidates.

The committee has been monitoring this situation and believes that these actions may violate Section 107 of the Constitution, which mandates that such elections must be conducted with fairness and integrity.

The committee has asked the EC to exercise its authority under Section 59 of the Organic Act on the Election of Senators, which stipulates that: "Before announcing the results, if there is a reasonable suspicion that the election was not conducted fairly or honestly, the commission has the authority to suspend, halt, rectify, alter, or cancel the election, and order a new election or a recount."

The committee urged the EC to consider and act upon these concerns.

At the office of the EC, candidates from three groups — Group 2 (Law and Justice), Group 3 (Education), and Group 14 (Women) — submitted petitions requesting an investigation into the national selection process for senators.

Kusumalwadee Sirikomut, a candidate from the Women’s group, expressed concerns about vote blocking. She noted that all votes from different ballot boxes appeared identical, indicating the use of voting lists, which undermines democracy. She also raised issues about candidates' qualifications not matching the occupational groups. For instance, there were cases where a candidate for a scientist position only had a primary school education, and a journalist was merely a local announcer. 

Furthermore, she alleged that 10 hotels reserved for out-of-town candidates from different groups were being used for collusion meetings, involving payments and organised dinners.

She voiced concerns about fairness in the investigation process, noting that the EC secretary-general, Sawang Boonmee, is from Buri Ram province, a former associate of Chai Chidchob, and has a brother who is a governor in Amnat Charoen province, potentially indicating bias from certain individuals and political parties. She asserted that vote-buying indeed took place, and there was overwhelming circumstantial evidence to support this claim. 

Meanwhile, Pol Lt-General Kamrob Panyakiew, a former deputy commissioner of the Royal Thai Police and a candidate from the Law group, stated that there were attempts to influence voters to choose specific candidates, with voting lists used during the selection process. He believes it would be easy to identify who voted for whom within a day and is willing to provide additional information. He urged the EC to delay announcing the results.

He presented evidence of voting lists, stating, "I found a voting list in the restroom. As a former police officer, I collected all types of evidence and compared the list with the actual votes. They matched perfectly."