Somchai Lenglak convicted of vote-buying while running for MP’s position
PUBLISHED : 31 Oct 2024 at 19:52
The Election Commission (EC) will ask the Constitutional Court to disqualify Somchai Lenglak as a senator after a court barred him from taking part in elections for 10 years for an earlier vote-buying offence, a source said on Thursday.
The poll body is in the process of drafting its petition, the source added.
The move follows a Supreme Court ruling on Sept 23, which found Mr Somchai had committed election fraud while running as an MP candidate for Constituency 9 in Songkhla in the 2023 general election. The court banned him from taking part in elections for 10 years.
The source said the EC believes Mr Somchai should be barred from holding public office because he was aware of and actively engaged in vote-buying.
Meanwhile, the EC is expected to reach a final decision next week on Senator Keskamol Pleansamai, who is facing disqualification over questions surrounding her educational background.
The commission is considering whether Ms Keskamol’s claim that she had graduated from California University with a PhD constituted deception to win votes, a violation of Section 77 of the 2018 Senate election law.
California University Foreign Credentials Evaluation Institution, as it is known officially, issues certificates “equivalent” to degrees based on an applicant’s educational and work achievements, not degrees.