PUBLISHED: 19 Apr 2024 at 04 :00
Senator Somchai Sawangkarn is urging the Election Commission (EC ) to stop any attempts to rig the selection of new senators.
He is upset by moves by Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, chairman of the Progressive Movement ( PM) and former leader of the now-defunct Future Forward Party ( FFP), to urge his supporters to sign up for the Senate election as candidates.
Mr. Somchai sees this as a ruse to rig the new technique so that 200 lawmakers can be elected between the upcoming month and June.
Mr. Thanathorn wished at a new conference in Chiang Mai that around 100,000 people would each spend 2,500 ringgit to appear as staff from 20 professional organizations to the new Upper House.
Then, only those with close links to the coalition government may become appointed and democracy may suffer, he claimed.
Mr Thanathorn said senate67. Potential candidates who share the same philosophy as the party can now use this website as a way to present themselves and get to understand one another before the election.
Without this campaign, he added, they wo n’t be able to beat their rivals in these professional groups, despite how well-qualified an independent candidate may be be.
Throughout its five-year career, the Senate does find seven of nine Constitutional Court courts, five of seven EC commission, and five of nine directors of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Mr Thanathorn told an earlier conference in Chiang Mai.
Mr. Somchai responded that if the EC does n’t take any action to stop this election-rigging attempt, it will be held accountable for dereliction.
About 100 people showed up to Mr. Thanathorn’s conference in Surat Thani, which was held yesterday.
He urged as many people to apply for the Senate vote as possible in his pitch.
He intends to hold a second conference now in the nearby Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Before Mr. Thanathorn visited Surat Thani, a resigned Interior Ministry official who only used his first name, Alongkorn, claimed he had previously been unaware of the complex system for selecting new lawmakers.
Some protesters have been urging individuals to persuade people in their home provinces to get Senate seats during Songkran to make it more difficult for powerful people to rally into legislature.