EC will have the power to ask courts to ban candidates: CDC

After independent agencies met with the drafters earlier this month, the panel started initial deliberation this week on their roles, composition, qualifications, and authority.

The EC would also be authorised to order a poll to be re-held within one month if there was any suspicious event during polling.

The composition of the EC would be changed from five to seven to nine, Amorn Wanichwiwatana, a spokesman for the CDC, said after its meeting. 

The drafters also agreed that qualifications for EC members should include the “courage” to carry out polls independently and fairly, he said.

In regard to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which earlier complained about the reduction of roles, with some due to be transferred to Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), the CDC resolved to put the NACC’s priority on investigating graft among politicians and make sure the process does not take too long.

In regard to the Office of the Auditor-General, Amorn said the drafters would look to improve its performance and enable it to work with more integration with other agencies.

Meanwhile, for the Ombudsman’s Office, everything would stay the same as in the 2007 Constitution.

The spokesman said the drafters also felt that selection processes for commissioners for independent bodies should be done independently. They said the selection committee should include the Supreme Court president, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the opposition leader, the president of the Supreme Administrative Court, and figures appointed by the Constitutional Court – who were honest, impartial and have never held a political post or had ties with a political party.

Selection could be done via recruitment or direct approaches to appropriate candidates, he said.

In regard to progress on writing the charter, currently the CDC is still working on the chapter on fundamental state policies, Amorn said.

Next week, there may be more details about the new electoral system proposed by a sub-panel chaired by Prapan Naigovit. The system is called “mixed-member apportionment” (MMA) and aims to make sure every vote matters.

Also, on Tuesday Apichart Sukhagganond, chairman of a panel studying executive bodies, will meet with the drafters to propose a report for further deliberation of what executive structure the country should adopt.