Constitutional Court to probe Phumtham, Tawee over Senate election dispute

The Constitutional Court’s nine judges unanimously voted on Wednesday to investigate whether two Cabinet members lacked evident integrity by abusing their authority to have elected senators scrutinised by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).

Cabinet Members Under Investigation

The court agreed to conduct an inquiry into Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who serves as chairman of the DSI’s special case committee, and Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong, the committee’s deputy chairman.

Appeal Submitted by Senate Speaker

The appeal requesting the court’s probe was submitted by Senate Speaker Mongkol Surasajja and signed by Senator Chattawat Saengphet along with 91 other senators.

Chattawat accused Phumtham and Tawee of abusing their authority to persecute elected senators by ordering the DSI to investigate them, despite the fact that such powers should belong exclusively to the Election Commission (EC) to examine election-related matters.

Allegations of Interference

The two ministers were accused of interfering with and influencing the EC’s work, using the DSI as a tool to disrupt the process of verifying the senatorial election.

According to the appeal, their actions amounted to political persecution, intimidation, and domination of the Senate—a legislative branch that should remain independent from the executive branch.

Constitutional Implications

The appeal argued that Phumtham and Tawee’s actions demonstrated a lack of evident integrity, a fundamental requirement for Cabinet members. Consequently, the petition called for their removal under Articles 160 (4) and (5) and Article 170 (4) of the Constitution.

Court’s Response and Next Steps

The court ordered Phumtham and Tawee to submit their written defence within 15 days. However, it declined to suspend them from office during the investigation, citing insufficient evidence in the petition to justify their temporary suspension from duty.