EC's Somchai says polls likely in Jan 2016
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The next general election could take place in January 2016, though it could be deferred by two or three months if there is a referendum on the new Constitution, Election Commission member Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said yesterday.
Somchai made this prediction in Pattaya, where the Election Commission (EC) held its first annual seminar with all provincial electoral officials.
He said the timing was later than he initially expected, which was by the end of 2015. However, he said, this was due to the several tasks set by the National Council for Peace and Order, including a new electoral law that will need to be written once a new Constitution is in place.
“It’s up to those in power to decide,” Somchai said, adding that for the meantime provincial election officials had to find a way to improve elections to prevent corrupt politicians from cheating their way into power. Somchai has called on provincial EC officials to stand united and prove to the public that they’re competent and impartial.
EC chairman Supachai Somcharoen, meanwhile, acknowledged yesterday that it was a tough time for the agency as some people have been floating the idea of dissolving the commission altogether. He told the provincial EC officials not to lose heart, adding that Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has told him that the EC was doing an excellent job.
Supachai also admitted that some people have been faulting the EC for being unable to eradicate vote buying.
“The EC needs to coexist in a democratic system. If we are disunited, we shall be dissolved.”
The chairman said the commission was legally bound by Article 35 of the interim charter to seek a way to tackle vote buying. He stressed that provincial EC officials have a prominent role to play in solving the problem, and that he was ready for suggestions, including ways of improving the investigation system on alleged electoral fraud.
Prawit Rattanapian, an EC commissioner in charge of public participation, said if Thai democracy could be likened to a tree, then the Kingdom was at a stage where the soil was being prepared for planting the tree.
He said schools should educate students about citizen’s duty and this must be not based on learning by rote, but by enabling students to understand and analyse the issue. Prawit also asked provincial EC staff to look into ways of achieving this by discussing the matter with students so Thailand can eventual develop into a democracy like other civilised nations.
