EC chief calls on legal entities to speed up NRC nominations

Yesterday – the second day since nominations for the NRC opened – was quiet, with just two nominees handing in applications. The deadline for nominations is September 2. 

EC secretary-general Puchong Nutrawong said if nominations come in less than five days before the deadline, officials may not be able to verify the candidates in time. He said he was particularly concerned about nominations that were mailed in. 

Srochrat Kiriratana, director-general of the EC’s department of electoral research and development, said that once nominee details were submitted, they would be fed into an online system linking 19 agencies responsible for verification. 

The NRC will have up to 250 members, 77 of whom will be provincial representatives, while the remaining 173 will be selected from candidates nominated by legal entities nationwide. 

According to its schedule, the junta should come up with a final list of names for the NRC by October 2.

The 173 nominees will be divided into 11 reform areas, though Puchong said these 11 groups may not have an equal number of members. However, he said, the total cannot exceed 173, as stipulated by law. 

National Legislative Assembly vice president-elect Surachai Liengboonlertchai, who is a member of the selection committee that will shortlist NRC candidates for reform in politics, said he believed that all of the 11 seven-member selection committees would meet next week to learn about the regulations. After that, each panel would meet separately to select a chairman, he said.