'Unfit' MPs disqualified in landmark court ruling
The Supreme Court yesterday issued a milestone ruling disqualifying nine MP candidates, two of whom were declared unfit because one was still a candidate of another constituency in Chum Phon and one was party list MP candidate.
The ruling results in the increase of the number of Thai Rak Thai Party MP candidates who will stand alone in the election from 16 to 24 constituencies. Reacting to the court ruling, Election Commission secretary-general Ekkachai Warunprapha said the EC ordered provincial election commissions across the country to comply to the ruling by disqualifying any MP candidates who were candidates in a constituency in the April 2 election and applied as candidates in different constituency in the second round of elections, scheduled on April 23. The stand-alone MP candidates have to win at least 20 per cent of total eligible votes. The first round of the snap election saw a one-horse race of 274 from 400 total constituencies. The Supreme Court's particular ruling read that Panthamit Duang-thip, MP candidate of Nakhon Si Thammarat's constituency 3 from Thai Ground Party was disqualified because he was a party-list candidate in the April 2 election. The court also ruled that Arkom Yeetnoi, MP candidate of Chumphon's constituency 2, was ineligble because he was a candidate in constituency 1. Meanwhile, the Democrat Party yesterday filed a criminal lawsuit charging the Election Commission (EC) with abuse of power relating to the management of the snap election. The Criminal Court will rule on May 29 whether the case merits judicial review. Named as defendants are the EC; four EC members - Vasana Puemlarp, Prinya Nakchudtree, Virachai Naewboonnien and Jaruphan Ruangsuwan; and EC secretary-general Ekachai Warunprapha. In its writ, the plaintiff said the five defendants allegedly overstepped their mandate by accepting additional candidates to contest the repeat vote, scheduled for Sunday, after the April 2 balloting failed to produce winners in 38 constituencies. The electoral law had no provisions for accepting additional candidacy applications and the EC bent the rules to benefit the Thai Rak Thai Party, whose lone candidates failed to muster the 20 per cent of eligible votes required to validate the outcome, it said. The writ also said there was no justification for the defendants allowing defeated candidates from the first round of voting to switch their constituencies in the second round.
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