Lawyer says Election Commission should have sent allegations of illegal funds to judge
PUBLISHED: 23 Jan 2025 at 05 :07
Election Commission (EC ) secretary-general Sawang Boonmee could be taken to court for deciding not to recommend the dissolution of the Bhumjaithai Party over allegations of unlawful donations.
Mr Sawang has been accused of dereliction of duty in a complaint filed with the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Circumstances by attorney Pattharapong Supaksorn.
The complaint stems from Mr Sawang’s determination not to suggest that the Constitutional Court break Bhumjaithai over the claims.
Bhumjaithai was accused of having unjustly received donations from Burijarearn Construction, a company allegedly owned by nominations of Saksayam Chidchob, a former travel secretary in the Prayut Chan-o-cha state and also the group ’s past secretary-general.
The Constitutional Court ordered Mr Saksayam removed as a secretary for concealing stock in Burijarearn Construction, which afforded him the power to control the company. The legislation prohibits a government minister from having such a play in a professional firm.
The committee said on Dec 28 that there was insufficient evidence to back claims that Bhumjaithai consciously received funds from illegal options.
It was acting on issues lodged by previous massage parlor tycoon-turned-politician Chuwit Kamolvisit and three people.
Mr Pattharapong said on Wednesday that the power to decide not to do the dissolution event rests with Mr Sawang, and he must accounts for such a decision.
The lawyer drew similarities between the unlawful donations case and the dissolution in February 2020 of the Future Forward Party ( FFP ) over an illegal loan extended by its leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
Mr Pattharapong said both circumstances dealt with illegal sources of funding linked to their individual functions. He said he failed to understand why Mr Sawang evidently failed to consider the decision to break Future Forward.
If the EC secretary-general had examined the decision, he may have made a different decision. His failing to look into the Future Forward situation was enough to get Mr Sawang’s trial in courtroom, Mr Pattharapong said.