In a landmark verdict the Constitution Court yesterday ordered a new poll after nullifying the April 2 election, and in doing so gave the country a fresh political start.

In an eight-to-six majority decision, the court found the management of the electoral process to be unconstitutional. The majority increased to nine judges who called for a new vote.

The verdict spelled out what had gone wrong with the botched election, but left relevant authorities, including the Election Commission (EC), to decide for themselves how to rectify mistakes and schedule a new election day.

"The majority opinion finds the EC to have acted in violation of the Constitution and deems it necessary to call for new balloting," court secretary-general Paiboon Warahapaitoon said.

The 14 presiding judges took three hours to rule on the verdict and deliver individual opinions that were based on two days of deliberations last week. The review came less than a week after His Majesty the King called on the judiciary to intervene to end the political crisis triggered by the short run-up to the election, the decision of opposition parties to boycott the poll, and the balloting results.

The ruling was based on a petition filed by Thammasat University law lecturers. The petition raised four issues: the fairness of the April 2 election day; whether the configuration of balloting booths met with Constitutional guarantees of voter's privacy; the funding of small parties; and the endorsement of balloting results without a formal review.

Paiboon said the judges deemed it within their purview to address two questions: the election's scheduling and voter confidentiality.

Of the majority of eight judges who voted to cancel the outcome of the election, six found the EC to have unfairly set the election day and to have violated voters' privacy because bystanders could watch them ticking their ballot papers.

The six were Parn Jantraparn, Jira Boonpojanasoontorn, Nopadol Hengjareon, Mongkol Saratun, Saowanee Asawaroj and Apai Chandanachulaka.

The other two, Preecha Chalermvanich and Ura Wang-ormklang, ruled that the configuration of balloting booths was unconstitutional but did not touch on the fairness of the election.

The dissenting judges who delivered a minority opinion were Jumpol na Songkhla, Manit Wityatem, Sakdi Techacharn, Sutee Suthisomboon, Suwan Suwanvecho and Suvit Teerapong.

The dissenting judges found the electoral process was constitutional, but stated in their individual opinions that they deemed it necessary to hold a new vote.

However, when it came to ruling on whether to order the new polls, judge Manit was the only one of the dissenting judges who switched to vote with the majority. The others chose to abstain.

In explaining the verdict, Paiboon said the judicial review did not cover the royal decree relating to the House dissolution. The ruling addressed only the election day, the choice of which was deemed unfair, he said.

The EC and relevant parties will have to consult one another to set a new date for balloting because this is an executive decision outside the court's purview.

"The verdict addressed pertinent issues relating to the electoral process but stopped short of naming agencies or individuals responsible for the botched election," he said.

The court was asked to rule on violations committed against the Constitution and had no mandate to chase culprits.

Judge Jira Boonpojanasoontorn said some of his colleagues might have addressed all four legal issues in their individual opinions, but the majority found it unnecessary to continuing voting on the verdict after two issues completely invalidated the ballot's result.

In regard to the scheduling of a new election, he said the EC should set any date between 45 days and 60 days from the verdict. The court's ruling will take effect on publication in the Royal Gazette.

Judge Mongkol Saratun expressed optimism that the political mess will start to untangle following the verdict.

The court spoke clearly in its order for the new polls, including the cancellation of balloting results and the invalidation of the newly elected MPs. The electoral process will revert back to square one, starting with a new decree to set the election day, he said.

Supon Thanukrit

The Nation