Bangkok Council Chief to Probe Vote-Rigging Ethics Complaint

Bangkok—On August 4, Pattaraphon Kengrungruangchai, Bangkok city councilor from Bang Sue District representing the Thai Phakam Party and president of Bangkok's city council, discussed the vote-rigging case. She confirmed receiving a letter from Srisuwan Janya, leader of the Thai Patriots Network, which she deemed significant. Representatives from the Thai Democrats and Pheu Thai Life parties indicated they would also submit documents but said they could not specify their channel yet, as they had not reviewed the materials. However, Srisuwan's submission clearly concerns ethics and falls under Bangkok council conduct codes.

The next step involves the council secretariat verifying that the complaint meets procedural requirements before forwarding it to the council for a formal fact-finding committee vote. The committee will comprise 13 council members and must reach one of two conclusions: founded or unfounded. Should the committee find the complaint founded, it will be escalated to establish an ethics committee of 13–14 members, chaired by a deputy council president.

The ethics committee will issue one of two findings: serious or minor misconduct. Minor violations result in a warning, while serious violations trigger a removal recommendation requiring a simple majority vote to initiate removal proceedings, followed by a two-thirds majority to formally expel the member. When asked whether findings must go to the Interior Ministry or if the ministry will investigate separately, Pattaraphon expressed uncertainty but noted that the Democrats had indicated sending their complaint through the ministry, potentially delaying their submission compared to Srisuwan's direct filing. She said legal clarification is needed on whether multiple complaints about the same matter require one or separate investigations. Regarding timeline, she confirmed the fact-finding committee has 30 days to report findings but did not specify an overall deadline.