MP Challenges Election Commission Over Senate Case Prosecutions
A Bangkok MP accused the Election Commission of selective prosecution in a major Senate election fraud case, saying 77 suspects were referred for charges but key politicians and officials mysteriously disappeared from follow-up investigatio
On September 16, 2024, during a House session chaired by Deputy Speaker Mallika Jiraphant Varanich, Bangkok MP Phandil Nuamjerm of the People's Party discussed the Senate election fraud case, metaphorically describing it as "77 dead elephants." He noted that despite reviewing over 70,000 pages and holding 11 meetings that voted to refer 77 people to the Supreme Court and pursue criminal charges, no management committee members or politicians were prosecuted. He questioned why the Commission's vision became blurred once entering political territory, citing the case of Subin Sakda, a Southern regional figure, whose financial connections to 11 other people remained uninvestigated. Phandil pointed out that documents signed by Krarchet Charoenin, Deputy Secretary-General of the Election Commission, recommended prosecution of Senator Pichai Chompupon and Deputy Senate Speaker General Kriangsak Srilauk on sufficient evidence, yet both have disappeared from follow-up. He criticized Election Commission Chair Sithichote Intrawisit for acting as both witness and defendant and accused the five remaining commissioners of selective prosecution based on political bias, warning them they face Article 157 charges. Regarding Deputy PM Praradorn Parisannanth's public statements dismissing the case as unfounded, Phandil countered that this investigation examined people, money, phones, locations, posters, and vote counts—not intelligence—and that September 14 marked not the case's closure but the start of accountability for those who cast the votes.
