Election Commission Seeks Disqualification of Bold Democrat MP
The Election Commission is seeking to disqualify Bold Democrat MP Kongkiat Ketsumatat from Nakhon Si Thammarat for running while ineligible due to a 1999 theft conviction, and for falsely declaring his qualifications during registration.
The Election Commission has recommended petitioning the Constitutional Court to disqualify Kongkiat Ketsumatat, an elected MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat District 8 from the Bold Democrat Party, and to pursue criminal charges. The case arose from a by-election to fill a seat vacated after Mukdawan Lueasrinill, a former Pheu Thai MP, was barred from running for ten years. The Commission found that Kongkiat had been convicted in Surat Thani Provincial Court in 1999 for theft and received a one-year prison sentence and fine, later reduced to six months imprisonment and a fine with two years suspended sentence. This conviction rendered him ineligible to run for parliament under the Constitution and election law. When registering on April 4, 2024, Kongkiat signed a declaration certifying he was qualified and had no disqualifying factors, despite knowing his ineligibility. The Commission determined he knowingly violated election law by running while ineligible and made false statements to election officials, undermining the integrity of the District 8 election.
