EC petition to be submitted Friday to Constitutional Court
The Election Commission (EC) is planning to submit on Friday its petition asking the Constitutional Court to rule whether the new EC law is constitutional.
There are some six points in the bill that the EC has objected to, including the total reset of the current EC. However, it has decided not petition the reset question to the court, as the optics of this could lead some people to conclude that it was fighting for the personal interests of EC members.
Instead, said Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn on Thursday, it will petition the court over the constitutionality of two controversial points. The first concerns the removal of the EC’s authority to organise local elections. The second is the removal of the power of EC members to suspend elections if fraud is found.
The petition would not derail the planned election as there is still plenty of time to revise the bill, Somchai added.
The bill is among four organic laws necessary to the coming election, and the first that has passed the National Legislative Assembly (NLA)’s needed endorsement. The NLA endorsed the law early last month.