The appointment of the five new members of the Election Commission, whose main task is to prepare for the first post-coup general elections expected next year,  has been given a royal approval.

HM the King has issued a Royal Command approving the appointment of Itthiporn Boonprakong as the EC chairman and four others as EC members.  They are Siri-ananpaiboon, Tawatchai Thoedpaothai, Chatchai Chanpraisri, and Pakorn Mahannop.

The Royal Command, countersigned by NLA chairman Pornpetch Wichitcholachai, was published in the Royal Gazette on Aug 12, 2018.

A selection committee nominated seven names to sit on the seven-member EC but only five were endorsed by the NLA. The committee is now in the process of selecting candidates for the two vacant posts.

Speaking before the Royal Command was published, Supachai Somcharoen, a former EC chairman, said he would leave it to the new EC to consider whether the 616 poll inspectors selected by the outgoing EC are qualified.  An official appointment of the poll inspectors will be made by the new EC, he added.

The fate of the election inspectors has become a bone of contention between the outgoing EC and a group of members of the National Legislative Assembly that many fear could further delay the general elections.