NLA will decide on future of provincial election committees, says Somchai
Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn on Monday said that the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) would decide whether the Election Commission’s (EC) provincial election committees would continue to exist.
Drafted by the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), the draft introduces so-called election inspectors to replace the EC’s existing provincial committees.
The charter drafters reasoned that inspectors would be more independent to scrutinize local elections, given that they must be natives of their responsible constituencies. The idea, however, has been opposed by the EC, which has proposed a new structure of the provincial committees.
In its proposal, Somchai said, the provincial committee members would come from veteran or retired civil servants instead local officials, to ensure that local elections would not be governed by these people.
“But the CDC disagreed with us, saying that our proposed model would open gaps for political influencel,” he said. “It’s their right to consider so. Their innovation never existed before. If the idea is practical and there is any problem, I think its creators should be held responsible.”
The organic law draft on the EC is one of the essential draft laws to pave the way for elections. They are stipulated in the charter draft to be enacted within 240 days after the charters’ promulgation.
