Potential election commissioners outline viewpoints
Weerayuth Chokchaimadon reports on the key points of the 10 Election Commission candidates' statements to a Senate scrutinising panel yesterday on how they would handle the general election.
Wicha Mahakhun
Election commissioners should put fairness and transparency at the top of their agenda. A fair election needs cooperation from local organisations because the EC in Bangkok cannot know each area as well as the local people do. Without clear evidence, the EC will not be able to disqualify cheating candidates. Strong evidence will also enable subsequent voting rounds to be held in time. --------------------------- Wasan Soipisut
There is no need to talk about a revamp of the EC because the new commissioners' terms will end in about two years. If the Senate picks me as one of the five commissioners, you can trust me that the EC will not surrender to any attempt by politicians to interfere. I have worked as a judge all my life and have never taken sides or worked for any political party. --------------------------- Apichat Sukhakkanon
The EC cannot do a good job without excellent work by local election officials, so the chairmen of the local ECs nationwide should be questioned about their neutrality. Some who are senior police officers should be replaced by senior judges who are independent of all local bodies. The number of polling stations should be reduced to enable better control. --------------------------- Udom Fuangfung
Disqualifying a candidate does not require clear evidence like criminal or civil courts do. If the EC finds even a clue leading it to believe that a candidate cheates or attempted to cheat, it has to boot him or her out of the race. However, the EC needs to establish clear criteria on what violates the election law or which actions deserve punishment for better understanding of EC justice. --------------------------- Somchai Jungprasert
A big change in EC management, particularly concerning local election officials, is unlikely to happen since the new EC has limited time to arrange the October 15 election. The EC should look into urgent problems instead. Local courts and attorneys should help the local ECs in investigating and wrapping up cases of election fraud. --------------------------- Prapan Naikowit
EC officials, police and military officers and election volunteers should be trained in fundamental principles, doing their tasks and coping with situations, otherwise it will lead to big trouble with the election results subject to protests from parties or candidates. As the next poll is due to take place in October, reforming the EC at this point would cause more problems than its solves. --------------------------- Kaewsan Atibodhi The EC should look into political parties that exploit government funds for their election campaigns. The former EC turned a blind eye to it. But if I become an EC member, I will not allow it to happen. The EC should also set a standard for disqualifying a candidate. Any action that involves a candidate in electoral fraud, even if he doesn't commit it himself, should disqualify him. --------------------------- Sumet Oupanisakorn
The local ECs nationwide play a major role in ensuring that an election is administered fairly. If the new EC fails to control them, the forthcoming election will fail to meet the public expectation that it will be fair to all parties. Facing a crisis of faith, the new commissioners urgently need to prove that they are neutral and not aligned with any party. --------------------------- Sodsri Satayathum
The new EC should change the rule that ballot boxes must be carried to a local election centre for vote-counting. Instead, ballots should be counted at the polling stations. This will reduce the chances that the boxes will be switched with ones full of fake ballots. All polling stations should be equipped with closed-circuit TV cameras to prevent cheating during counting. --------------------------- Nam Yimyaem
The new EC must serve His Majesty the King's wish to see the country return to peace, so it has to put on a fair election with no fear or bias. As the 10 nominees include judges and legal experts, there should not be big concern about disqualifying cheating candidates. They all have lengthy experience in investigating and considering cases.
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