EC investigating 168 complaints on alleged election irregularities
The Election Commission (EC) has received a total of 168 complaints about irregularities in the general election as of Monday, the commission chairman, Itthiporn Boonprakong, said.
The complaints include 59 about vote buying, 58 on defamation, 18 about government officials' illegal actions, and 33 on other issues, such as violation of the election law, he explained.
He added that the number of complaints this year was currently lower than the 552 complaints during the 2019 general election.
We hope the improvement in political participation will help reduce the number of complaints, he said.
The EC has to examine the vote counting and look into the complaints before announcing the election result within 60 days after the election day, he said. He promised to release the election result as soon as possible to maintain fairness among people.
When asked if the allegation against Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat's shareholding would affect the release of the election result, Itthiporn said the EC was considering the issue, adding that it may take some time.
"Facts and evidence are necessary to be fair to the parties involved in the allegation,” he said.
The issue was raised last week by political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, who urged the EC to consider disqualifying Pita for holding shares in media company ITV Plc , in violation of the Constitution.
Pita has denied the allegation, explaining that the 42,000 shares were left to him by his late father and he was just the manager of that estate.
