Throw electoral fraudsters in jail
I agree with the constitutional reform committee chaired by NIDA rector Sombat Thamrongthanyawong that Section 237 of the current Constitution should be changed by scrapping the dissolution of parties in case of electoral fraud while imposing stricter pen
Party dissolution is unfair because it punishes party members who could have no knowledge of, or influence on, crimes that party executives committed in their names, and punishes potential party members who share the party’s philosophy by depriving them of a channel through which to turn their philosophy into reality.
Party dissolution is also ineffective, amounting to 100 lashes with a wet noodle – as shown by Thai Rak Thai’s many versions. Not only that, the banned politicians simply carry on working, but through proxies.
So, as it stands now, Section 237 punishes the wrong people and doesn’t deter. As Gilbert and Sullivan said, “Let the punishment fit the crime.” It’s people who did the dastardly deeds of stealing the votes of millions of voters, not the party: punish them! If they had stolen a few thousand baht, they’d have been jailed; stealing votes enabled them to maybe steal billions of baht. Toss them in jail, too, thus deterring them from repeating their crimes, and deterring others.
Burin Kantabutra
Bangkok
