Senator Defends Election Commission Against Restructuring Calls

Senator Kob Ajanakit defended the Election Commission against restructuring proposals and the idea of giving the public power to remove commissioners, cautioning against turning law into mob rule, during a Senate session on September 21 at Parliament.

The session reviewed a report on developing Thailand's free and fair electoral process submitted by the Senate's Committee on Political Development, Public Participation, Human Rights, Freedoms, and Consumer Protection.

Kob argued that proposals to give the public removal power over the Election Commission must consider context and feasibility without creating division. He stressed that the Senate must understand the 2017 Constitution, which currently governs the country, and questioned whether critics truly speak for the people or the Move Forward Party. He emphasized that law must remain law and cannot avoid legal principles, and called on highly educated officials to demonstrate integrity and honesty rather than allow law to become mob rule.

Kob noted that if changes to Election Commission law or electoral law are considered, they must start at the House of Representatives and must respect constitutional rights and freedoms without infringing on others' rights. He defended the Election Commission as an independent body under the Constitution, composed of experts from multiple fields with legal authority, and noted that Senate members were selected through a process that has been reviewed without obstruction. He criticized those who heavily attacked the results simply because they disliked the outcome, arguing that majority decisions made lawfully cannot become illegitimate simply because minorities oppose them, and warned that such opposition risks creating societal bias and loss of neutrality in the country.