Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat has questioned whether he had been a victim of political persecution by the Election Commission (EC).
He wrote in his Facebook post today that he would like to know whether the investigative committee had concluded its findings before the EC asked the Constitutional Court to suspend him from performing duty as an MP, even though the EC claims that the investigation process and its petition to the Charter Court are separate issues.
Pita referred to previous media shareholding cases, involving about 60 MPs, saying that the Constitutional Court had not ordered any of them to be suspended from performing their duties but, in this case, he was ordered so to do.
“I would like to ask society to judge whether such an order is fair or not?” said Pita at the end of his post.
He was responding to a report that the EC investigating committee has recommended the EC to drop the charge that he violated the election law for allegedly holding shares in a media firm while filing candidacy in the May-14 election.
According to an informed source at the EC, the committee found there is no clear evidence that iTV was operating and earning income at the time when Pita applied for his election candidacy in early April.
The committee pointed out that, in order to disqualify Pita, in accordance with Section 151 of the Election Act, evidence that he still held shares in the media company must be clear and beyond any doubt.
The committee’s findings and recommendation have been sent to the secretary-general of the Election Commission, said the source, adding that the case will then be forwarded to a sub-committee for consideration, when Pita may be asked to testify to the panel.
The source also said that the panel may delay the case until there is a ruling from the Constitutional Court on Pita’s parliamentary status as relates to the iTV share ownership.
