Senator Somkid Sreesangkom, fourth right, hands a petition on behalf of 35 caretaker senators to Upper House Speaker Suchon Chaleekrua asking him to seek a Constitution Court ruling on whether the three election commissioners should be removed from office

The petition, submitted yesterday via caretaker Senate Speaker Suchon Chaleekrua, stated the three EC members had shown favouritism in managing the electoral process, an offence punishable by dismissal.

The statement refers to the botched April 2 election as evidence that the EC members were no longer fit to manage the electoral process.

Under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court is empowered to disqualify EC members who fail to do their job with impartiality. The EC should be revamped before the new election, tentatively set for October 15, caretaker Senator Sak Korsaengruang said.

Meanwhile, Suchon put on a brave face in response to the rejection made by the full bench of the Supreme Court judges when he asked for assistance in picking candidates to fill two vacant seats in the EC.

"Many newspapers reported the fact that I lost face but my face is still intact," he said, reacting in a tongue-in-cheek manner to yesterday's press reports.

Last month's judicial summit had called for the resignation of incumbent EC members, paving the way for judicial intervention to restore the credibility of the electoral process.

Acting in defiance, Suchon requested the judiciary to name four candidates of whom two would be picked.

The filling of vacant posts, if it occurs, would allow the three EC members to achieve a quorum to cling to office. Talking about his next move, Suchon said he would have to study in detail why the Supreme Court had refused to name EC candidates before deciding whether to pursue the case further in the Constitution Court.