Two EC members oppose petitioning NLA over ‘resetting’ decision
The current five members of the Election Commission (EC) are far from unanimous about standing up against their dismissal as stipulated by the draft organic law, with two of them accepting the decision by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to remove them from office in a “resetting” of the agency.
Dhirawat Dhirarojvit and Pravich Rattanapian voted against the petition the EC discussed on Tuesday for submission to the NLA, saying it was merely about “personal interest”.
Dhirawat, the commissioner overseeing political-party affairs, expressed the opinion that the EC should not petition on the issue because the NLA had already discussed, deliberated thoroughly and voted 117 to one in favour of the decision to reset the entire EC membership.
Hence, to argue against it, the EC should have solid and evident reasons and not rely only on their own sentiment and judgement, he stressed.
As a jurist, Dhirawat said the NLA decision resulting from such a fair legislative process should be respected.
While the legislation as passed would put the current five members at a disadvantage as they would be removed from office, if they opposed that decision, members of the public could perceive that the commissioners were only protecting their personal interest rather than that of the public, Dhirawat explained, adding that such a stance would be a disgrace.
“To sit in an independent agency, a national agency, we commissioners should be proud,” he said. “[We should] refrain from acting in any way that would damage the integrity and reputation [of the EC] and should accept decisions, even when they affect our own interest.”
He went on to say that when learning that the NLA had decided to reset the agency, he felt relaxed because he was confident that there were many more good things he could do without being part of the EC.
“Being an EC member is just a superficial thing, and impermanent,” Dhirawat said. “I accept every change. I don’t hold on to anything.”