Isaan Liberation Front leader Taikorn Pholsuwan yesterday asks Anti-Money Laundering Office acting secretary-general Yutthabul Dissamarn to investigate the three former election commissioners.

"It's likely that both parties have their people inside the EC," said Somsri Hananantasuk, in reference to the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party and the opposition Democrat Party.

Somsri said finding out who was working for whom was a crucial task for the new election commissioners, who are yet to be selected, so the EC could become impartial and conduct a free and fair election.

But this was unlikely, she said, as long as these officials, some of whom occupy senior positions at the central and provincial offices, remain in office.

"An investigation can be carried out and if it is successful in proving that a person is not impartial, they should be fired … even if compensation money has to be paid to them," she said. But political links were unlikely to be as obvious as EC staff sharing the same family name as political party candidates.

Somsri said her impression from working with the EC as an election observer over the years was that many of its staff still seemed to have difficulty understanding what democracy was all about.

Aside from finding out who may be a "mole", Somsri said decentralisation of the EC structure was also needed, and better teamwork.

Somsri said many staff may have been improperly hired, with the former commissioners simply asking them to work there. Plus, some were disinterested in their work and under-qualified. However, she said, there were some good young staff members who wanted to make a positive change.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation