Worawi's celebrations on hold as EC smells something fishy

Worawi Makudi predictably outscored his sole challenger Virach Chanpanich 42-28 to win the Thai FA top job for a fourth consecutive term amid allegations of wrongdoings related to voting process. It was hard to say that what happened was something unexpected, given the fact that the post, which carries plenty of power, was at stake in the election.

If a series of events that followed the postponement of the originally scheduled poll in mid-June were anything to go by, it seemed inevitable that the vote would not end without a controversy. As it proved, things are yet to get back to normal at the Thai FA since Worawi’s election victory was officially confirmed.

The poll this time was conducted under a new electoral code, with all 19 administrative posts being picked through votes unlike in the previous one where voters selected only the FAT president. But the most important change to the electoral procedure was the secret ballot. Even then, the election was not free from allegations of irregularities.

It looked suspicious even before the start of the vote. It was alleged that there was a move to put outsiders in place of the club’s representatives for the voting. Six of the 72 voting clubs were locked up in a dispute and the electoral committee ruled on each case on the eve of the poll.

However, there was a sudden change of the entire appeal committee and the “new” panel decided to reverse the EC’s ruling by giving voting rights to another person in each of the six clubs without giving reasonable explanation. That controversial decision came just a few hours before the vote. 

Another incident that posed a serious question about the integrity of the election was the decision to allow several people running for posts, including Worawi, to cast their votes. No one would argue that these people have more or less involvement with the club they represent but for voting it should have been someone else.

All this makes a mockery of Worawi’s claim that the poll was the “cleanest” that has ever been staged. Instead, it was Chanint Kaenhiran, who better summed up what had actually happened. The EC member said he never thought there would be such a coordinated move that did not respect the law in such “small” election like the FAT.  

It is now up to the governing body, Sports Authority of Thailand, to approve the election outcome or not. So, Worawi’s celebrations, for retaining the post he has held since 2007, have been put on hold.