The deputy speaker of the house purchases an investigation into the effects of online surveys for potential irregularities
PUBLISHED: 13 Jun 2024 at 20: 25
A bill sponsored by civil society organizations seeking asylum in social and lese-majeste cases dating up to September 2006 is opposed by the majority of House of Representatives survey respondents.
The final results of the month- long online survey showed that 64.66 % rejected the bill, with 35.34 % in favour.
From May 13 through midnight on June 12th, the secretary reported that 90,503 people took part in the survey.
However, in the final hours of the election on Wednesday night, there were complaints from bill supporters that the number of” No” votes had risen to 20,000, which appeared to be a coordinated operation. Due to Wednesday, they said, opinions , had been running close to 50: 50.
Padipat Suntiphada, the deputy speaker of the House, said the benefits may be criminal and he wants to take a second glance.
” I have requested that I check the IP addresses and any abnormalities that may have occurred on the website, as well as the legal authors ‘ thoughts.” I will remind everyone of the information quickly”, Mr Padipat, a former part of the Move Forward Party, wrote on his X accounts on Thursday.
The draft bill was proposed by Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen, of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, and was seconded by 36, 723 individuals. It was submitted to congress for attention.
It aims to support relevant cases that date back to the day of Gen Sonthi Boonyaratklin’s revolt against the Thaksin Shinawatra government on September 19, 2006.
A commission would be established to review the cases and decide which ones would receive immediate parole under the proposed legislation. These may include violations of the 2016 election rules, National Council for Peace and Order orders, and the Lese-majeste law. Essentially, the latter forbade opposing viewpoints on a law written for the military.
The review council had include 19 people, including the legislature leader, opposition leader, chief whip, staff of all political parties and representatives of the people facing legal behavior since the 2006 revolution.
Nonetheless, the bill does not apply to state officials who conducted increased pressure in rallies and those who violated Section 113 of the Criminal Code.
Section 113 pertains to acts of using force or threats with the intent to change the constitution, overthrow the legislature, government or judicial powers, divide the Kingdom of Thailand or seize administrative power.
The survey’s results were heeded by independent academic Pat Hemasuk, who urged all political parties to take into account the findings, noting that the majority of people do not want wrongdoers to be punished.
In addition, he also warned the ruling Pheu Thai Party that if it made the decision to continue with the amnesty request, it might lose seats in the upcoming general election.
Pheu Thai’s stance on the amnesty proposal is being closely watched as Thaksin Shinawatra, widely seen as the party’s de facto leader, now faces lese- majeste and computer crime charges.
According to reports, Thaksin has petitioned the Office of the Attorney General for” fair treatment” and claimed that the police who handled the initial complaint in 2015 were pressured by” those in power at the time” — a reference to the military regime that carried out a coup in 2014.