A former senator, a retired judge and a senior Supreme Court justice have attracted the lion's share of public opposition to their possible appointment as election commissioners, according to a source close to the Senate special committee vetting the candidates.

The source said nine out of 10 complaints received from the public questioned the political impartiality of candidates, saying they were biased towards certain politicians or groups.

The three candidates who drew the most complaints are former senator Kaewsan Atibhodi, retired Supreme Court justice Nam Yimyaem and Justice Wasant Sroypisut.

Committee member Wallop Tangkhananurak said yesterday that almost 400 letters were sent to the PO box designated by the Senate for the public to write in with their concerns about the 10 candidates.

The source said most complaints named former Bangkok Senator Kaewsan, Nam, who headed an Election Commission (EC) investigation into Thai Rak Thai and Wasant, chief of the labour cases division of the Supreme Court.

Letters that claimed to have been sent from the provinces were postmarked Bangkok. Many did not contain the senders' real names and addresses.

The source said most letters contesting Nam's candidature alleged he was close to Democrat chief adviser and former prime minister Chuan Leekpai.

They noted Nam worked in the same law firm as Chuan before he entered government service as a public prosecutor and later a judge.

They alleged Nam was an opponent of the Thai Rak Thai. They cited his heading of an EC investigation into the party, the findings of which resulted in a case in the Constitution Court for alleged violations of electoral law during the April 2 election.

There were also claims that Nam leaked details of the investigation to the media and the Democrat Party.

Kaewsan was attacked for political bias, the source said. The letters against him argued that as a senator, Kaewsan was anti-government. Some claimed he belonged to the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which wants Thaskin Shinawatra out of power. Others said he was an enemy of democracy.

The complaints cited Kaewsan speaking at PAD rallies at Sanam Luang and Lumpini Park.

Wasant's impartiality was called into question because he worked as a defence lawyer for the Naew Na newspaper and its columnist, Prasong Soonsiri, who were sued by some Constitution Court judges for an article criticising the court's acquittal of Thaksin on the charge of concealing assets.

Some claimed Prasong was linked with the PAD and therefore Wasant must be as well.

Wallop said the panel was not concerned by the number of complaints and most of the allegations were not serious. Only a handful of complaints cited personal issues, while the rest were solely about political impartiality.

The committee will today assign vetting tasks to sub-committees, he said.

Bancha Khaengkhan

The Nation