Senator urges EC to ask Constitutional Court to intervene in case against Pita
A panel of the coup-appointed Senate on Wednesday asked the Election Commission (EC) to urgently forward a highly controversial shareholding case against Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat to the Constitutional Court.
Senator Seree Suwanpanont, chairman of the Senate committee on political development and public inclusion, visited the commission’s office with his deputy, Kittisak Ratanawaha, for a closed-door meeting with commission chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong.
They discussed Pita’s alleged shareholding in the company, which was delisted from the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2014.
Seree is among several senators who have publicly vowed not to support Pita’s bid to become Thailand’s next prime minister.
Seree has said that he and several other senators will not vote for Pita because his party has pledged to amend Article 112, also known as the lese majeste law.
Before his meeting with Ittiporn, Seree told reporters that he visited the commission to submit more “evidence” against Pita.
Seree said the evidence had been received by the Senate, but did not disclose the content of the evidence.
Last month, serial petitioner Ruangkrai Leekitwattana filed a complaint with the commission accusing Pita of being unqualified to run in the May 14 election because he allegedly held shares in ITV.
Ruangkrai claimed the company remains an active media firm even though the television station it once operated, iTV, went off the air in 2007.
The EC declined to disqualify Pita, saying his candidacy had been endorsed in April.
However, it initiated a criminal probe of Pita, citing Article 151 of the MPs Election Act.
Article 151 makes it a crime for an individual to contest an election knowing that he or she is not qualified to do so.
Pita’s alleged shareholding in ITV is the issue in the probe.
Thailand’s current Constitution bans MPs from holding shares in media companies.Pita has said the shares are part of his deceased father’s estate and that he is executor of the estate.
Previously, outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, a legal expert, said the Article 151 probe could take months and would not need to be forwarded to the Constitutional Court.
It will not affect the election of the next prime minister by members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both chambers will hold a joint session to elect Thailand’s next prime minister. The joint session is expected in the middle of next month.
Pita is the sole candidate for prime minister for the Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the May 14 election, including 31 of 32 constituencies in Bangkok.
Despite his popularity with voters, the charismatic politician faces a backlash from military-backed political parties and their most vociferous supporters.
Pita has assured his supporters that he and his party have gained enough support in the Senate to ensure that he will be elected prime minister.
Following this assertion, his opponents have stepped up calls for the EC to send the shareholding case to the Constitutional Court before Parliament votes to select the next prime minister.
If the case is sent to the Constitutional Court and the court accepts it for judicial review, Pita may be suspended as a candidate in the vote in Parliament to select Thailand’s 30th prime minister.
Sources who were present at the meeting between Seree and Ittiporn said Seree submitted the results of a study by his Senate panel into Pita’s alleged shareholding.
Seree also forwarded new information received from former activist Nopparuj Worachitkul to Ittiporn.
Nopparuj has called on the EC to forward the case against Pita to the Constitutional Court.
He submitted information to Seree’s panel on Tuesday. Previously, Nopparuj had been a member of the White Pigeon group, which campaigned against the coup in 2006 that ousted then-premier Thaksin Shinawtra from office.
Thaksin is the patriarch of the Pheu Thai Party. Pheu Thai, Move Forward and six smaller political parties have formed a coalition vying to form Thailand’s next government, with Pita as prime minister.
Move Forward and Pheu Thai are currently negotiating which party will appoint the next speaker of the House of Representatives. The speaker will control the agenda of the House of Representatives and is considered the head of the legislative branch.
