Senator Sak disqualified but spared five-year ban

The case came to light after the Election Commission detected a foul play in connection with the nomination of Sak to the senatorial seat.

In forming its decision, the high court’s Election Cases Division outlined that the Law Society of Thailand nominated Sak on March 6, 2011.

Under transitional provisions of the 2007 Constitution, former senators must complete a five-year lapse before qualifying to resume senatorial duty.

In his previous term, Sak served from March 22, 2000 to March 21, 2006. Under legal precedents set by the Constitution Court, the five-year lapse is computed from the date of the term’s end. Therefore the March 6 nomination date failed to meet the five-year gap.

The high court nullified the Sak’s nomination but found no cause to suspect neither the nominating agency nor Sak to have unlawfully attempted to evade the provision on time gap. At the time of nomination, parties concerned interpreted Sak’s previous term to end on March 5, 2006, factoring in that he won the senatorial race on March 4, 2000.