Somchai fires back at CDC over primary election remark
Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn appears to have taken aim at Constitution Drafting Commission chairman Meechai Ruchupan after the latter said EC officials who had shared views with the CDC on the political party organic draft bill were "instructed" to affirm they could handle staging a primary election.
Meechai made the remark following a meeting on Monday to review whether the bill, which was passed by the National Legislative Assembly last week, was unconstitutional.
The two bodies have opposing views on the primary voting process proposed in the bill. While the CDC expressed concern the voting may not be feasible, based on the readiness of political parties, the EC believes that it can be carried out.
Somchai questioned whether the CDC looked down on EC officials, suggesting that the CDC had a lack of confidence in officials ability to hold a primary election despite them saying they could do the job.
“They insisted that they could handle it. Why did you say that they were instructed to say so?” Somchai said.
Somchai insisted that the EC could handle the primary election but the CDC kept opposing the agency despite the CDC’s insistence it desired political reform.