Heated! Senators Blast Election Commission for Eroding Public Trust; Suwang Defends Robust System Against Interference

Senators roundly criticized the Election Commission's election management for damaging public confidence, contradicting claims of transparency. Election Commission Secretary-General Suwang Boonmee defended the integrity of the system, stating no one can tamper with it. The suspended senator case is being treated as a special matter with over 90,000 pages of investigation completed, awaiting consideration by the full Election Commission.

On April 28, 2025, at the National Assembly, the Senate met with Boonsoung Noisopon, Deputy President of the Senate, presiding to review the Election Commission's fiscal year 2567 performance report under Section 22(8) of the Election Commission Act 2560. Election Commission Secretary-General Suwang Boonmee was present to clarify the commission's work.

Most senators criticized the Election Commission's management of recent elections, particularly the Senate and House elections, saying it had eroded public confidence and trust. Dr. Prem Saktdi Piayura, a senator, argued that while the Election Commission submitted documents to the Senate claiming elections were conducted cleanly, fairly, and transparently, the public had raised many questions, with widespread public sentiment expressing distrust of the commission.

He questioned: "How can the secretary-general be proud of public distrust? I want to ask the Election Commission secretary-general if your words match your heart. You should investigate why the public speaks this way. You have the authority and role the constitution assigns to manage elections, but authority without credibility is meaningless."

Senator Angkhana Neelapaijitr noted that many citizens had questioned the Election Commission on transparency, fairness, vote-buying, unfair rules, and unequal enforcement. She proposed four recommendations: 1) Create mechanisms for public oversight of elections; 2) Set fixed timelines for complaint processing and publicly disclose decisions in writing; 3) Simplify legal language in public communications and provide clear explanations of importance and rationale; and 4) Refrain from using laws to prosecute citizens expressing sincere, transparent opinions, as this may constitute legal intimidation.

"Trust doesn't happen by itself," she said. "It must be built through transparent, verifiable work. The more society questions, the more it shows citizens care about the Election Commission."

Secretary-General Suwang responded that elections are competitions requiring rule-based integrity, with results stemming from political parties, candidates, and citizens sharing responsibility. The Election Commission designed the system to be fair and transparent. Regarding direct and secret ballot allegations currently in court, he deferred to judicial proceedings. Regarding claims of 50% error rates, he clarified this meant 50 errors among 100,000 units. On election day, citizens and the Election Commission saw the same things, with no commission staff serving as election officials—poll observers were volunteers.