Pricha Defies Defamation Suit, Pushes Senate Election Fraud Probe

Pricha Wachrasindhu, a Pheu Thai party list MP and deputy party leader, posted on Facebook on August 3 responding to defamation charges filed by Deputy Prime Minister Thongsuk Thongsakdi's lawyer on August 2 in Bueng Kan province. Pricha said he believes the lawsuit stems from testimony by Sananchai Chuea-Udomtanikij, a former Senate candidate from Nong Bua Lamphu, who revealed on the opposition floor that he was part of a scheme to hire candidates for Senate election led by Sorchai Vichisuvannaprom and reported to Thongsuk when he was deputy interior minister. Pricha stressed the lawsuit will not stop him from investigating the Senate fraud case and announced new evidence from national Senate ballot cards showing links between Sorchai (number 111) and Pornperm Thongsakdi (number 65), both elected from Group 13.

Pricha presented detailed ballot analysis showing the two candidates' numbers appeared together in four identical voting instructions, each listing only five Group 13 candidates allowed per ballot. He found that 44 candidates (67% of Sorchai's votes and 73% of Pornperm's votes) voted for both men together, far exceeding chance correlation. Pricha also noted that ballot card numbers matched the voting instruction patterns clearly, such as Instruction A (65-111-36-123-1) appearing on multiple actual ballots. He questioned whether the two senators were independently elected or had coordinated in the alleged fraud scheme before the election and urged the Election Commission to submit the evidence to court for investigation.