Constitutional Court Dismisses Khlong Khao Candidate's Election Complaint
Thailand's Constitutional Court dismissed an election complaint from a Khlong Khao party candidate in Nakhon Si Thammarat who challenged his removal from the ballot roster, ruling the matter had already been decided by other courts.
On August 13, 2025, the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled against Kong Kiart Ketsumabot, a former House of Representatives candidate from Khlong Khao party in Nakhon Si Thammarat's District 7, who sought a constitutional ruling under Article 213. Ketsumabot argued he suffered harm from actions by the Election Commission, its chairman, the provincial election authority, and the Supreme Court's election division, which ordered his removal from the candidate roster under Section 42(12) of the 2018 Election of Members of the House of Representatives Act on grounds he fell into a prohibited category. He contended this violated his rights and freedoms under the Constitution. The court found that the facts presented showed the respondents' actions had already been finally decided by other courts under the Constitutional Court Procedure Act 2018, Section 47(4), making the petition inadmissible. Regarding his claim that Section 42(12) conflicted with constitutional provisions, the court noted such constitutional review requests are subject to specific criteria under the Constitution's Articles 212 and 231(1), and the petition failed to meet the required standards under Sections 47(2) and 48. The court also unanimously rejected a separate petition from Wattana Chomchai, who alleged the Election Commission's ballot design for the referendum failed to include options for article-by-article constitutional amendments, and accused officials of providing inaccurate referendum statistics. The court determined these matters similarly fell outside its jurisdiction.
