Criminal record of candidates may be revealed

Organic laws would be written in way that protects Election Commissioners from lawsuits, Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) spokesman Chartchai Na Chiangmai said yesterday.

The development came after drafters reviewed the clause on the origin of senators, which has drawn controversy, mostly due to the fact they will be selected via indirect election.

This process requires three levels of election, from district to national, where candidates from 20 social groups will be chosen from different social or professional groups. The last 200 winners in all three levels would gain seats in the Upper House. 

However, politicians, critics and the drafters themselves fear that this method may leave room for lobbying or vote fixing, and that would make it almost impossible for the process to be fair. 

Chartchai said yesterday that vote fixing was possible because Thais were considerate people and prone to helping one another in all situations. He added that the only way to prevent irregularities would be for the CDC and the EC to work together.

He went on to say that any campaigning for Senate seats was prohibited and that candidates’ background, including their criminal record, would be released only by the EC, either through its website or public notice boards. 

However, Chartchai did not say whether these outlets would indeed reach the public, though he insisted that the EC would find a way to release the records closer to the election date. He also said a stage may be set up for candidates to present themselves to the public. 

Apart from that, Chartchai |said yesterday that the charter drafters had been reading |comments related to the new draft and would consider them soon. 

The comments had been divided into four key groups based on the commentators, he explained. 

The first group includes those from the National Council for Peace and Order, the Cabinet, the National Legislative and the National Reform Steering Assembly. The second and the third are comments from government and private organisations and political parties respectively, while the last group covers opinions of the general public. .

The spokesman said drafters would compare the suggestions with what the CDC has included in the new charter, adding that they would not hesitate to include ideas proposed by the four groups ‘if they were better’. 

Once the first draft of the charter is ready, the CDC will hold an event to explain why it adopted one idea and not another, he said.

The drafters will hold a retreat in Cha-am in Phetchaburi from January 11 to 17 to finalise the first draft. 

Every time an article was resolved, it would be publicised, he said, adding that the press was welcome to witness the meeting.