Acting Senator Somchai Sawangkarn claimed today that some parties had hired a number of individuals to apply for senatorial candidacy just to vote for their affiliated candidates.
He claimed that a thorough check of the Sunday’s votes in many districts revealed that many candidates did not receive a single vote and were eliminated at the district-level.
He explained that the many incidents of no votes being received by candidates indicate that many candidates were hired to vote for other candidates affiliated with political parties, by taking advantage of a loophole in the senator election law which specifies that a candidate can cast their vote for themselves or for other candidates.
“If they were genuine candidates, they must have, at least, cast a vote for themselves,” he said.
Somchai also claims that several candidates received 8-10 votes, which earned them a ticket to the provincial-level election, because they received votes from these “hired” candidates.
He said that the ability for such proxy candidates to enter the contest was because election officials failed to check their backgrounds thoroughly. The election law clearly specifies that the candidates in each of the 20 background groups must have at least ten years of experience in that role.
The acting senator noted another loophole, namely that candidates were allowed to take “Sor Wor 3” documents into the polling booths, which might have been marked with instructions telling them for whom they should vote.
“This can be cross-checked with footage from the CCTV systems at all polling units,” said Somchai, as he maintains that his claim is substantiated.
In his capacity as chairman of the Senate committee on human rights, freedom and liberties and protection of consumers, Somchai admitted that, at this stage, they cannot stop the malpractice, but would continue with the probe.
He predicted, however, that the selection process for senators could be invalidated in the end, due to the alleged rigging.
