EC proposal to NLA takes Meechai by surprise
Chief charter drafter Meechai Ruchupan on Thursday said the Election Commission (EC) had never discussed with it, like it had with the NLA on Thursday, the idea to have provincial commissioners act as a board to oversee the work of election inspectors proposed by the drafters.
The EC has suggested maintaining its provincial commissioners, but with different members from various professions to allay concerns on their efficiency. Currently, the EC provincial commissioner positions are permanent, and they are often considered close to local politicians as they hail from the same localities.
The Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) has proposed in the Election Commission draft bill to dissolve the position of provincial commissioners and replace them with non-permanent inspectors sent from other localities.
Meechai said the EC had never offered a response to the CDC about the idea. He insisted that having such inspectors would help eliminate criticism that the EC’s agents were amenable to political influence.
The problem with permanently posting personnel in a locality was people had the impression that they worked for politicians, Meechai said.
Meechai said it was more appropriate to randomly send agents to work in an area, like the inspectors proposed in the draft bill, rather than have permanent personnel.
He said the NLA would decide how the organic law on the EC should be shaped, and the CDC was open to any changes.