Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) decided today (Tuesday) to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the MP status of five politicians who were found guilty last week over their roles in the protests against the Yingluck Shinawatra administration.
The five MPs are Thaworn Senneam. Democrat MP for Songkhla province, Chumphol Julasai, Democrat MP for Chumporn province, Issara Somchai, party-list Democrat MP, Nataphol Teepsuwan and Buddhipongse Punnakanta, both party-list MPs of the Palang Pracharat party.
They are former core members of the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), which staged mass demonstrations in 2013-2014.
Three of them were cabinet members before the rulings last on February 24 – Nataphol as education minister, Buddhipongse as digital minister and Thaworn as deputy transport minister. They lost their ministerial posts as soon as their sentences were delivered as convicts are not eligible for the positions.
The Criminal Court also stripped Chumphol, Issara and Nataphol of their political rights for five years.
