Bangkok:The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) has submitted two boxes of documents to the Constitutional Court, seeking a ruling on its authority to verify the qualifications of senators.
According to Thai News Agency, the ECT has tasked its officials with filing a petition, accompanied by supporting documents, to the Constitutional Court. This action requests a decision on the ECT's responsibilities and powers in verifying the qualifications of Senate candidates.
The petition filing follows the Election Commission's majority resolution of 5 to 2, which agreed to forward the issue based on Section 210, paragraph one (2) of the Constitution. This decision was reached after the Supreme Court's Election Division accepted a related petition about the verification of Senate candidates' qualifications and the need to reassess the Election Commission's decision.
The Election Commission has requested the Constitutional Court to address two key issues. The first is whether orders and announcements made by election directors at district, provincial, and national levels, accepting and announcing qualified candidates without disqualifying characteristics, are final. This is unless exceptions are stated in Section 63 of the Organic Act on the Acquisition of Members of the Senate, B.E. 2561 (2018). The second issue is whether rulings under Section 60, paragraph two, and Section 62 of the same law are considered final, and if other individuals can petition the Supreme Court to review or reconsider these rulings.
However, Mr. Sitthichot Intrawiset and Mr. Chai Nakornchai, minority members of the Election Commission, have expressed their dissent. They argue that the request pertains to the Supreme Court's review power, which is not under the Constitutional Court's jurisdiction as defined in Section 210, paragraph one (2). They also contend that filing a petition under this section should not cause the Supreme Court to delay considering the case while awaiting the Constitutional Court's decision.