Constitutional Court terminates Bhumjaithai MP Samlee’s parliamentary status
The Constitution Court ruled on Wednesday to end the parliamentary status of Bhumjaithai party-list MP Samlee Raksutthee on grounds that he was not qualified to remain MP because of a previous graft conviction.
The court voted 6:3 to rule that Samlee’s MP status had ended since election day on March 24, 2019.
House Speaker Chuan Leekpai had asked the court to consider whether Samlee was qualified to contest the election since he was once convicted in a corruption case by the Mahasarakham provincial court.
The House speaker’s complaint stated that Section 98 (10) of the MPs election act prohibited persons convicted in corruption cases from standing in a national election.
After the court accepted the complaint for consideration on November 3 last year, it ordered Samlee to stop work as an MP pending a ruling.
The court has now ruled that Samlee’s MP status ended in accordance with Section 101 (6) of the Constitution and Section 98 (10) of the organic law on MP election.
The court said the House speaker must announce that the Bhumjaithai party-list candidate of the rank below Samlee is now the new party-list MP and also announce the new MP’s name in the Royal Gazette within a week.
