Court Strips Senate Candidate of Eligibility Over False Credentials

The Supreme Court's Election Division revoked the candidacy rights of a Buriram Senate candidate for submitting false educational and employment history on her registration forms, compromising the integrity of the election. On September 18, 2569, the court issued its judgment in the case involving the Election Commission and Nimmuan Pruksapanyakul, candidate for Senate Group 13 in Satuk District, Buriram Province, ordering the revocation of her candidacy and voting rights under Article 226 of the Constitution and Article 62 of the Organic Act on Senate Member Acquisition, B.E. 2561.

When Nimmuan registered on May 22, 2567, she declared her highest educational qualification as a bachelor's degree in science from Buriram Teachers College and listed civil service experience on her candidate information form (form SW.3). However, investigation revealed that she actually completed only a higher vocational diploma equivalent to an associate degree in general science from Buriram Rajabhat University on May 12, 2522. Her only work experience was as a contract teacher at Satuk School from 2523 to 2524, teaching science for two years. When confronted, Nimmuan admitted she had never completed a bachelor's degree and had never served in the civil service.

The court found that Nimmuan's false statements about her education and civil service background constituted electoral fraud intended to mislead voters about her qualifications and influence them to vote for her. The court determined that her actions violated Article 77(4) of the Organic Act on Senate Member Acquisition and Article 226 of the Constitution, rendering the election process neither fair nor just. Consequently, the Supreme Court's Election Division stripped her of the right to be a candidate.