PUBLISHED: 25 May 2024 at 19:27
More than 48,000 people global registered to engage in a Senate contest to replace 200 tickets, according to the Election Commission.
Sawaeng Boonmee, secretary-general of the Election Commission, said 48,226 persons had applied to get lawmakers since the first day of membership on Monday. Registration closed on Friday, with the number of candidates less than half of the 100,000 that officials expected.
According to the Department of Provincial Administration, 48,117 candidates met all requirements.
Those who have not likely have their applications carefully reviewed by Wednesday, the ministry said.
Results showed that several districts lacked applicants from all 20 expert groups to get senators.
Seven regions had candidates from just one class while two regions had no candidates.
But, Mr Sawaeng said this condition does not influence the election timeline as Sections 19 and 40 of the Organic Act on the Acquisition of Senators allow the selection of district-level prospects despite a lack of prospects from all expert teams.
“The number of applicants may be lower than expected due to high skills and the complexity of the system to prevent abnormality of the senatorial membership, which may prevent them from applying, ” said Mr Sawaeng.
“The existing number of applicants will help management and control of the process. ”
A list of senatorial candidates is accessible via the Smart Vote mobile apps, he said.
Individuals can also record irregularities via the game, he added.
Sources may be asked to remain recorded to assure justice, he said.
However, the Open Forum for Democracy Foundation said the small number of applicants may be attributed to limited information transmission, lack of support from the Election Commission in highlighting the importance of the Senate and the great 2,500-baht membership cost.
Misunderstandings among officials that led to unnecessary document requests was also one of the problems, it said.
On Friday, the Central Administrative Court ordered a revocation of Election Commission regulations concerning the limiting of a candidate’s introduction to no more than an A4 page, the method of electronic introduction and a prohibition on candidates who are artists or media professionals from using their talents to introduce themselves.