Top court 'split' over bid to disqualify EC
Constitution Court judges are split over whether the court should accept a petition filed by a group of 35 senators seeking to disqualify the three remaining election commissioners, a source said yesterday.
The judges debated the relevant constitutional clauses but they failed to come to a conclusion, said the anonymous source. "They are almost evenly split," the source said. The court's secretary-general Paibool Warahapaithoon said the court will decide tomorrow whether to proceed with the petition. The judges yesterday debated whether they had the authority to accept the petition for judicial review, he said. The judges discussed the case as it related to Articles 142 and 266 of the Constitution, which empower the court to rule on disputes arising over the powers and duties of organs set up under the charter. Paibool said the judges agreed to deliver their individual positions tomorrow, after which the court will take a formal stand on the complaint. Constitution Court acting president Parn Chantaraparn, who chaired yesterday's meeting of the judges, argued that Article 266 did not apply in this case, according to Paibool. The court's decision on whether to proceed is likely to depend on the judges' individual interpretations of Article 142 as it applies to the case, Parn was quoted as saying. When they submitted their petition to Senate Speaker Suchon Chaleekrua, the 35 senators cited Article 136 of the charter, which states that the commissioners must have "apparent political impartiality and integrity". The senators argued that the way the EC organised the April elections suggested they were incapable of carrying out their tasks. However, in the petition forwarded to the Constitution Court, the Senate speaker cited Articles 142 and 266. Article 142 allows MPs and senators to lodge a petition for the Constitution Court to determine whether any Election Commissioner should be disqualified. Article 266 states that in the case where a dispute arises about the powers and duties of organs under the Constitution, such organs or the Parliament president can submit a matter together with their opinion to the Constitution Court for a decision. The Senate speaker acts as the Parliament president in the absence of a speaker from the House of Representatives.
Opas Boonlom, Supon Thanukrit The Nation
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