EC to comply with court ruling on Senate candidate profiles

The Election Commission (EC) has opted not to challenge a Central Administrative Court decision regarding a regulation that prevents Senate election candidates from sharing their profiles publicly.

Sawang Boonmee, EC Secretary-General, confirmed yesterday, May 27, that the commission will not use the 30-day window to appeal the court’s decision. The Senate election regulations have been updated to align with the court’s ruling, effective immediately.

The Central Administrative Court had directed the EC to remove a part of its regulation that barred senator candidates from disclosing personal and career details on social media and mass media platforms.

Previously, Senate candidates were restricted from introducing themselves via social media and mass media. They were only permitted to share their details with intra- and inter-professional groups that would vote for them at district, provincial, and national levels.

Several candidates, including Narakorn Tiyayon, Dr Pairoj Sawangtrkul, Chollanat Koykul, Thirachart Kortrakul, and Thaweep Wanichhanont, urged the commission to uphold the court’s ruling and not appeal.

District-level voting is scheduled for June 9, provincial-level voting for June 16, and national voting for June 26. The results, which will see 200 senators selected from 20 professional groups, are expected to be announced on July 2.

Narakorn stated yesterday that no restrictions should be imposed on how candidates present themselves to the public, emphasising that people must have unrestricted access to information about candidates.

“No restrictions must be imposed on how candidates introduce themselves to the public. People must also have unrestricted access to information about candidates.”

Narakorn also suggested that the EC should set up district voting venues in convenient locations and allow the public to observe the voting process.

Thirachart highlighted the impracticality of restrictions on public introductions, noting that much information about candidates is already available online.

“The restrictive rule might be the reason for the low number of candidates for the Senate election.”

According to EC figures, a total of 48,117 people applied as senator candidates during the five-day registration period. The poll agency had anticipated up to 100,000 applicants for the election.