EC clears 31 senators - but not Sak - in qualifications row
Play
The Election Commission has ruled to drop complaints over the qualifications of 31 senators, saying it can find no cause to suspect foul play, EC member Sodsri Satayathum said yesterday.
“The EC made a unanimous decision to dismiss all 31 cases,” she said.
Activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana filed the complaints, claiming the 31 senators had failed to comply with a ban on holding two consecutive terms.
Sodsri said the EC found the 31 had resigned before completing their terms. Therefore under a transitional clause of the Constitution, which came into effect in 2007, they were exempted from the ban.
She went on to explain that the disqualification case involving Senator Sak Korsaengruang could not be compared to the charges against the 31.
In the Sak case, the senator was supposed to complete a mandatory five-year gap between appointments as prescribed under the suspended 1997 charter, she said.
The Law Society of Thailand nominated Sak for the job before the gap ended, causing his disqualification, she explained.
