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Election Commission (Thailand)
Encyclopedia
The Election Commission of the Kingdom of Thailand ' onMouseout='HidePop("80256")' href="/topics/Abbreviation">Abrv:
ECT) is an independent government agency and the sole Electoral Commission
of Thailand
tasked with overseeing Senate
, House
, local and district elections throughout the Kingdom of Thailand
. Established by the Constitution
, the Election Commission (EC) has extensive powers to manage, oversee, and regulate the electoral process. The EC adopted a highly interventionist approach to the 2000 Senate elections
, the 2006 House elections, and the 2007 House elections
, forcing re-elections and disqualifying many candidates.
. It is also in charge of enforcing National election laws covering: House of Representatives
, Senate
, Districts, Referendums
, Bangkok Gubernatorial elections and Political parties. Its constitutional duty includes the publishing and all election returns, therefore formalizing them. The Commissioners also have the right to disqualify a candidate, or call for a re-count for a particular seat.
Its responsibilities include the organization, management and counting of all elections and voting in the Kingdom, all procedures and staff will also be under the Commission's administration. Other roles are to advise and suggest to the National Assembly
future policies concerning elections and suffrage. The Commission also have legal power as a law enforcement agency
to investigate and indict those who break election laws through: bribery, corruption, vote buying and blackmail. The Commission also has powers to investigate the finances and donor lists of all political parties. Other responsibilities include: to educate the public about elections and the importance of them.
and four associate Commissioner . The administrative side of the commission is run by the Secretary of the Commission . As well as being a regular member of the commission, the five members are also given various responsibilities. All Commissioners are appointed by the King, with the advice of the Senate of Thailand
; for a term of seven years. The current Commission is the 3rd set of commission, appointed on 20 September 2006 (immediately after the 2006 Thai coup d'état) :
|President of the Election Commission
|Apichart Sukatkannont
|Central Administration
|20 September 2006
|-
|Associate Commissioner
|Prapan Naikowit
|Election Administration
|20 September 2006
|-
|Associate Commissioner
|Somchai Jungprasert
|Central Investigation
|20 September 2006
|-
|Associate Commissioner
|Sodsri Sattyadharm
|Political Party Regulation
|20 September 2006
|-
|Associate Commissioner
|Sumet Upanisakorn
|Participation
|20 September 2006
|-
|Secretary to the Commission
|Dr. Sutthipol Thaweechaikarn
|The Secretariat
|20 September 2006
|-
|}
or Mahatthai Ministry. Under the premiership of Anand Panyarachun
after the Thai general election of 1992
, the Prime Minister realised the need to create a central and independent body, whose sole purpose was to regulate and manage elections. As a result on the 22 March 1992 the "Committee to Administer and Investigate Elections to the House of Representatives" was created, a precursor of the Commission. The Commission in its current form was created in the 1997 Constitution of Thailand
.
, the Chart Thai Party
and the Mahachon Party decided to boycott the election. They felt that Thaksin Shinawatra
's government has unfairly called an election to divert public attention form the Shin Corp scandal. Despite this the Election Commission and the government continued and press for the election, the election went ahead.
On 3 April 2006, the People's Alliance for Democracy
(PAD) petitioned the Administrative Court to suspend the results of the election and accused the Election Commission of violating voter privacy. It accused the Commission of placing voting booths so that voters' backs were to the public, whereas in previous elections, voters faced the public, with a board one-half meter tall at the front of the booth separating the voter from the public. The Commission claimed the new arrangement was designed to prevent various forms of poll fraud including the use of camera
s by voters to take photographs of their ballots. After the 2005 election, cameras and cameraphones had been banned from voting stations due to fears that canvassers would demand ballot photographs in return for money. However, the PAD claimed that this allowed onlookers to peek over voters' shoulders and see who they voted for.
The elections were finally declared invalid by Thailand's Constitutional Court
, which found that the positioning of the voting booths violated voter privacy. The Constitutional Court later pressured the Election Commission to resign for its management of the April elections. The Court was unsuccessful in pressuring the then President to resign; however, it did prevent the Senate from appointing a replacement for commissioner Jaral Buranapansri, who had died. This prevented the Commission from achieving a quorum. It later found the remaining Commissioners guilty of malfeasance and jailed them, albeit for only one night. an entirely new commission was appointed.
A number of MPs (mainly those elected for the PPP) were given so-called "red cards" for suspected vote-buying, meaning they will not be able to contest the resulting by-elections, while other MPs issued with "yellow cards" are not banned from contesting such by-elections. By 3 January 2008, the Election Commission had endorsed 397 MPs and was still investigating 83 MPs for fraud.
By-elections were held on 13 January, 17 January, 20 January (the day before the first session of the newly elected parliament) and 27 January 2008. The Electoral Commission was still looking into allegations of fraud by PPP deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyaphairat; if he is given a red card, the PPP faces dissolution. PPP officials have stated that they are not worried over the possible dissolution, and that they would simply find a new party instead; local reports state that a likely candidate for takeover by PPP members would be the Thai Land Power Party (Palang Pandin Thai Party).
Disqualified were:
and Abhisit Vejjajiva
were acknowledged as the members of the House
. On 27 July, the acknowledgement extended to further ninety four elected candidates. Now and eventually, the number acknowledged sufficed to constitute the House. This, however, did not include Jatuporn Prompan
whom the Election Commission declared to have lost the suffrage
due to failure to vote in both the previous and the present elections. The Constitution
requires that a member of the House must possess the suffrage, and also prescribes that a person failing to vote in an election loses the suffrage but regains it once voting in the next election.
The Election Commission's announcements of the acknowledgement were published in the Government Gazette as follows:
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
ECT) is an independent government agency and the sole Electoral Commission
Election management body
An election management body or EMB is the authority in a nation charged with administering the electoral process. EMBs can be independent, mixed, judicial or governmental. The EMB may also be responsible for electoral boundary delimitation...
of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
tasked with overseeing Senate
Senate of Thailand
The Senate of the Kingdom of Thailand is the upper house of the National Assembly of Thailand, . In accordance with the 2007 Constitution of Thailand, the Senate is a non-partisan legislative chamber, composed of 150 members...
, House
House of Representatives of Thailand
The House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Thailand is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai Government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a Constitutional Monarchy and a Parliamentary Democracy. The system of the Thai...
, local and district elections throughout the Kingdom of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Established by the Constitution
2007 Constitution of Thailand
A Permanent Constitution for the Kingdom of Thailand was drafted by a committee established by the military junta that abrogated the previous 1997 Constitution. On August 19, 2007, a referendum was held in which 59.3% of the voters voted in favor of the constitution...
, the Election Commission (EC) has extensive powers to manage, oversee, and regulate the electoral process. The EC adopted a highly interventionist approach to the 2000 Senate elections
Thai Senate election, 2000
Senate elections were held for the first time in Thailand on 4 March 2000. All candidates ran as independents, as they were forbidden from running on a party ticket.-Results:...
, the 2006 House elections, and the 2007 House elections
Thai general election, 2007
The 2007 Thai general elections were held on 23 December. This was the first legislative election after the Council for National Security, a military junta, had overthrown Thailand's elected government and abrogated the constitution on September 19, 2006. The junta had canceled general elections...
, forcing re-elections and disqualifying many candidates.
Roles and responsibilities
The primary role of the Commission is ensure that that elections carried out in the Kingdom of Thailand is lawful and compatible with the ConstitutionConstitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
. It is also in charge of enforcing National election laws covering: House of Representatives
House of Representatives of Thailand
The House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Thailand is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai Government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a Constitutional Monarchy and a Parliamentary Democracy. The system of the Thai...
, Senate
Senate of Thailand
The Senate of the Kingdom of Thailand is the upper house of the National Assembly of Thailand, . In accordance with the 2007 Constitution of Thailand, the Senate is a non-partisan legislative chamber, composed of 150 members...
, Districts, Referendums
Thai constitutional referendum, 2007
A referendum on the new constitution was held in Thailand on 19 August 2007. Had the draft been rejected, the military government would have had the freedom to choose any previous constitution to adapt and promulgate instead...
, Bangkok Gubernatorial elections and Political parties. Its constitutional duty includes the publishing and all election returns, therefore formalizing them. The Commissioners also have the right to disqualify a candidate, or call for a re-count for a particular seat.
Its responsibilities include the organization, management and counting of all elections and voting in the Kingdom, all procedures and staff will also be under the Commission's administration. Other roles are to advise and suggest to the National Assembly
National Assembly of Thailand
The National Assembly of Thailand or the Parliament of Thailand is the legislative branch of the government of Thailand. The National Assembly of Thailand is a bicameral body, consisting of two chambers: the upper house, , and the lower house,...
future policies concerning elections and suffrage. The Commission also have legal power as a law enforcement agency
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
to investigate and indict those who break election laws through: bribery, corruption, vote buying and blackmail. The Commission also has powers to investigate the finances and donor lists of all political parties. Other responsibilities include: to educate the public about elections and the importance of them.
Structure
The Election Commission of Thailand is made up of a committee of five members; one PresidentPresident
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and four associate Commissioner . The administrative side of the commission is run by the Secretary of the Commission . As well as being a regular member of the commission, the five members are also given various responsibilities. All Commissioners are appointed by the King, with the advice of the Senate of Thailand
Senate of Thailand
The Senate of the Kingdom of Thailand is the upper house of the National Assembly of Thailand, . In accordance with the 2007 Constitution of Thailand, the Senate is a non-partisan legislative chamber, composed of 150 members...
; for a term of seven years. The current Commission is the 3rd set of commission, appointed on 20 September 2006 (immediately after the 2006 Thai coup d'état) :
|President of the Election Commission
|Apichart Sukatkannont
|Central Administration
|20 September 2006
|-
|Associate Commissioner
|Prapan Naikowit
|Election Administration
|20 September 2006
|-
|Associate Commissioner
|Somchai Jungprasert
|Central Investigation
|20 September 2006
|-
|Associate Commissioner
|Sodsri Sattyadharm
|Political Party Regulation
|20 September 2006
|-
|Associate Commissioner
|Sumet Upanisakorn
|Participation
|20 September 2006
|-
|Secretary to the Commission
|Dr. Sutthipol Thaweechaikarn
|The Secretariat
|20 September 2006
|-
|}
History
Prior to 1992, the responsibility of overseeing elections fell on the Ministry of InteriorMinistry of Interior (Thailand)
The Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Thailand is an important Cabinet-level department in the Government of Thailand. The Ministry is given wide ranging responsibilities over many aspects...
or Mahatthai Ministry. Under the premiership of Anand Panyarachun
Anand Panyarachun
Anand Panyarachun was Thailand's Prime Minister twice, between 1991–1992 and once again in 1992. He was effective in initiating economic and political reforms, one of which was the drafting of Thailand's "Peoples' Constitution", which was promulgated in 1997 and abrogated in 2006...
after the Thai general election of 1992
Thai general election, 1992
General elections were held in Thailand on 22 March 1992, the first after the National Peace Keeping Council overthrew the elected government of Chatichai Choonhavan in a coup on 23 February 1991. A total of 15 parties and 2,185 candidates contested the 360 seats...
, the Prime Minister realised the need to create a central and independent body, whose sole purpose was to regulate and manage elections. As a result on the 22 March 1992 the "Committee to Administer and Investigate Elections to the House of Representatives" was created, a precursor of the Commission. The Commission in its current form was created in the 1997 Constitution of Thailand
1997 Constitution of Thailand
For legal and historical context, see the Constitutions of Thailand articlethumb|275px|Bangkok's [[Democracy Monument, Bangkok|Democracy Monument]]: a representation of the 1932 Constitution sits on top of two golden offering bowls above a turret....
.
2006 House election
The Thai general election of 2006, which was held on the 9 April for the House of Representatives and the 19 April for the Senate. The main opposition parties composed of: the Democrat PartyDemocrat Party (Thailand)
The Democrat Party is Thailand's oldest political party and was the main coalition government party of the 23rd House of Representatives of Thailand. The Democrat Party's current leader is Abhisit Vejjajiva, incumbent opposition leader and former Prime Minister. The party upholds a conservative...
, the Chart Thai Party
Chart Thai Party
Thai Nation Party , also known as Chart Thai, was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party and the Matchima party, for having violated electoral laws in the Thai general election, 2007...
and the Mahachon Party decided to boycott the election. They felt that Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....
's government has unfairly called an election to divert public attention form the Shin Corp scandal. Despite this the Election Commission and the government continued and press for the election, the election went ahead.
On 3 April 2006, the People's Alliance for Democracy
People's Alliance for Democracy
The People's Alliance for Democracy also called the National Liberation Alliance - กลุ่มพันธมิตรกู้ชาติ, Thai Patriots Network or the Yellow Shirts - เสื้อเหลือง - was originally a coalition of protesters against Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand. Its leaders include...
(PAD) petitioned the Administrative Court to suspend the results of the election and accused the Election Commission of violating voter privacy. It accused the Commission of placing voting booths so that voters' backs were to the public, whereas in previous elections, voters faced the public, with a board one-half meter tall at the front of the booth separating the voter from the public. The Commission claimed the new arrangement was designed to prevent various forms of poll fraud including the use of camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
s by voters to take photographs of their ballots. After the 2005 election, cameras and cameraphones had been banned from voting stations due to fears that canvassers would demand ballot photographs in return for money. However, the PAD claimed that this allowed onlookers to peek over voters' shoulders and see who they voted for.
The elections were finally declared invalid by Thailand's Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of Thailand
The Constitutional Court of Thailand is an independent Thai court originally established under the 1997 Constitution with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, draft legislation, as well as the appointment and removal of public officials and issues regarding...
, which found that the positioning of the voting booths violated voter privacy. The Constitutional Court later pressured the Election Commission to resign for its management of the April elections. The Court was unsuccessful in pressuring the then President to resign; however, it did prevent the Senate from appointing a replacement for commissioner Jaral Buranapansri, who had died. This prevented the Commission from achieving a quorum. It later found the remaining Commissioners guilty of malfeasance and jailed them, albeit for only one night. an entirely new commission was appointed.
2007 House election
By-elections were held on 13 January, 17 January, 20 January (the day before the first session of the newly elected parliament) and 27 January 2008. The Electoral Commission was still looking into allegations of fraud by PPP deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyaphairat; if he is given a red card, the PPP faces dissolution. PPP officials have stated that they are not worried over the possible dissolution, and that they would simply find a new party instead; local reports state that a likely candidate for takeover by PPP members would be the Thai Land Power Party (Palang Pandin Thai Party).
Disqualified were:
- PPP
- red cards for Prakit Poldej, Pornchai Srisuthiyothin, Rungroj Thongsri – Buri Ram Province Constituency 1
- yellow cards for Boonlert Krudkhunthod, Linda Cherdchai, Prasert Chanruangthong – Nakhon Ratchasima ProvinceNakhon Ratchasima ProvinceNakhon Ratchasima or , often shortened to Korat or Khorat , is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand...
Constituency 3 - yellow card for Thanatorn Losunthorn – Lampang ProvinceLampang ProvinceLampang is one of the northern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Chiang Rai, Phayao, Phrae, Sukhothai, Tak, Lamphun and Chiang Mai. The old name of Lampang is Khelang Nakhon.-Geography:...
Constituency 1 - yellow cards for Surathin Phimarnmekhin, Anan Sriphan, Cherdchai Wichianwan – Udon Thani ProvinceUdon Thani ProvinceUdon Thani is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Nong Khai, Sakon Nakhon, Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Nong Bua Lamphu and Loei.- Geography :...
- yellow cards for Prasop Busarakham and one other MP, with Busarakham's card changed to red later – Udon Thani ProvinceUdon Thani ProvinceUdon Thani is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Nong Khai, Sakon Nakhon, Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Nong Bua Lamphu and Loei.- Geography :...
Constituency 3
- Thai Nation Party
- red cards for two MPs – Chai Nat Province
- Democrat Party
- yellow card for Suthat Jansaengsi – Phetchabun ProvincePhetchabun ProvincePhetchabun is one of the northern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Loei, Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, Lopburi, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit and Phitsanulok.- Geography :...
86
- yellow card for Suthat Jansaengsi – Phetchabun Province
- For the Motherland Party
- yellow cards for two MPs
2011 General election
On 19 July, both Yingluck ShinawatraYingluck Shinawatra
Yingluck Shinawatra , or nickname Pu , is a Thai businesswoman and politician, member of the Pheu Thai Party, and the 28th Prime Minister of Thailand following the 2011 general election...
and Abhisit Vejjajiva
Abhisit Vejjajiva
Abhisit Vejjajiva , , ; born Mark Abhisit Vejjajiva; 3 August 1964 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a Thai politician who was the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011 and is the current leader of the Democrat Party...
were acknowledged as the members of the House
House of Representatives of Thailand
The House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Thailand is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai Government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a Constitutional Monarchy and a Parliamentary Democracy. The system of the Thai...
. On 27 July, the acknowledgement extended to further ninety four elected candidates. Now and eventually, the number acknowledged sufficed to constitute the House. This, however, did not include Jatuporn Prompan
Jatuporn Prompan
Jatuporn Prompan is a Thai politician and activist. He is a Member of Parliament of the Pheu Thai Party and one of the core leaders of the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship , also known as the "Red Shirts"....
whom the Election Commission declared to have lost the suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
due to failure to vote in both the previous and the present elections. The Constitution
2007 Constitution of Thailand
A Permanent Constitution for the Kingdom of Thailand was drafted by a committee established by the military junta that abrogated the previous 1997 Constitution. On August 19, 2007, a referendum was held in which 59.3% of the voters voted in favor of the constitution...
requires that a member of the House must possess the suffrage, and also prescribes that a person failing to vote in an election loses the suffrage but regains it once voting in the next election.
The Election Commission's announcements of the acknowledgement were published in the Government Gazette as follows:
| # | Announcements | Number of candidates acknowledged | Date of acknowledgement | Published in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportional | ||||
| 1 | Announcement of the Election Commission, Re: Results of election of party-proportional members of the House of Representatives, dated 12 July, 2011 |
109 | 12 July, 2011 | Government Gazette: volume 128/part 58 A/page 6/21 July, 2011 |
| 2 | Announcement of the Election Commission, Re: Results of election of party-proportional members of the House of Representatives (2nd group), dated 19 July, 2011 |
2 | 19 July, 2011 | Government Gazette: volume 128/part 59 A/page 6/27 July, 2011 |
| 3 | Announcement of the Election Commission, Re: Results of election of party-proportional members of the House of Representatives (3rd group), dated 21 July, 2011 |
6 | 21 July, 2011 | Government Gazette: volume 128/part 59 A/page 11/27 July, 2011 |
| 4 | Announcement of the Election Commission, Re: Results of election of party-proportional members of the House of Representatives (4th group), dated 27 July, 2011 |
7 | 27 July, 2011 | Government Gazette: volume 128/part 60 A/page 10/28 July, 2011 |
| Constituency | ||||
| 5 | Announcement of the Election Commission, Re: Results of election of constituency-type members of the House of Representatives, dated 12 July, 2011 |
249 | 12 July, 2011 | Government Gazette: volume 128/part 58 A/page 11/21 July, 2011 |
| 6 | Announcement of the Election Commission, Re: Results of election of constituency-type members of the House of Representatives (2nd group), dated 19 July, 2011 |
10 | 19 July, 2011 | Government Gazette: volume 128/part 59 A/page 4/27 July, 2011 |
| 7 | Announcement of the Election Commission, Re: Results of election of constituency-type members of the House of Representatives (3rd group), dated 21 July, 2011 |
26 | 21 July, 2011 | Government Gazette: volume 128/part 59 A/page 7/27 July, 2011 |
| 8 | Announcement of the Election Commission, Re: Results of election of constituency-type members of the House of Representatives (4th group), dated 27 July, 2011 |
87 | 27 July, 2011 | Government Gazette: volume 128/part 60 A/page 11/28 July, 2011 |
See also
- Elections in Thailand
- Constitution of ThailandConstitution of ThailandThe Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is the supreme law of Thailand. Since the change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 charters and constitutions, reflecting the high degree of political instability and frequency of military coups faced...
- Thai general election, April 2006
- Thai general election, 2007Thai general election, 2007The 2007 Thai general elections were held on 23 December. This was the first legislative election after the Council for National Security, a military junta, had overthrown Thailand's elected government and abrogated the constitution on September 19, 2006. The junta had canceled general elections...
- House of Representatives of ThailandHouse of Representatives of ThailandThe House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Thailand is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai Government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a Constitutional Monarchy and a Parliamentary Democracy. The system of the Thai...
- List of ministries of Thailand