Activist Demands Election Commission Recall Three Witnesses in Senate Vote Case

On September 21, Srisuwan Janya, leader of the nationalist organization Love Thailand Love Nation, filed a petition with the Election Commission requesting strict law enforcement and a decision to revoke witness protections for three individuals and end their witness status in a case involving alleged irregularities in a Senate election. He called for criminal proceedings under Sections 137, 175, and 177 against the three witnesses who recanted their testimony.

Srisuwan noted that the Election Commission had announced on September 14 the results of an investigation into possible Senate election fraud and decided to prosecute 77 people involved. However, the commission's majority voted not to prosecute the ruling party's executive board while prosecuting only 26 senators and network members, suggesting credible evidence of election fraud was found. But after the commission chairman announced the majority would not accept testimony from three witnesses previously designated under the 2561 Organic Law on Obtaining Senate Members and the commission's regulations, those witnesses—designated as Witness 16, Witness 21, and Witness 22—recanted their statements.

Srisuwan argued that since these witnesses dared to recant, the commission must revoke their witness status and end their protection under its regulations. Criminal charges must be pursued immediately on two counts: first, election fraud related to disenfranchisement under the Organic Law Section 62; second, filing false reports or giving false testimony to officials under the Criminal Code Sections 137, 175, and 177. He warned that if the commission neglects this duty, it may face criminal liability under Section 69 of the Election Commission law, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both, plus 10-year loss of voting rights. Similar offences also fall under the 2561 Anti-Corruption Act Section 172 and Criminal Code Section 157.