Rules ‘could fail’ to deliver clean election

Vote-buying ‘hard to stamp out’: adviser

Politicians and academics are still in doubt as to whether the general election will be free of fraud despite new regulations designed to deal with legal violations.

Jade Donavanik, a law scholar and adviser to the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), said that while the CDC was drawing up the 2017 constitution and gathering public opinion, people confirmed vote-buying was prevalent in all constituencies in previous elections.

In some provinces it occurred at every single polling station, Mr Jade told a seminar organised by the Election Commission yesterday to mark its 21st year in operation.

He said the current charter seeks to address the problem of fraudulent votes by requiring political parties to ensure their members comply with a code of ethics and act meticulously when screening poll candidates with the participation of party members.

Mr Jade said the charter offered a new mechanism to prevent deceitful or otherwise unwelcome politicians from being elected.

For example, even if voters receive money from poll candidates to vote in their favour, they can still tick the “vote no” box, he said.

To win a seat, a candidate is required to garner the highest number of votes in a constituency and get more than the number of “vote no” boxes ticked.

Mr Jade said the number of election commissioners will increase from five to seven under the new law governing the poll agency as they will have to handle more tasks related to elections.

But he said the people will still play the most important role in helping combat poll fraud. The EC cannot do a comprehensive enough job of monitoring and preventing this alone, he said.

Meanwhile, Democrat deputy leader Jurin Laksanavisit told the seminar the new regulations would fall short of the mark unless they are enforced fairly.

He pointed to the first chamber of 250 appointed senators who will serve five-year terms during the transitional, post-election period as stipulated by the constitution.

The first 250 appointed by the National Council for Peace and Oder (NCPO) will play a key role in choosing an “outsider” prime minister.

While this is technically constitutional, however, it does not make it fair, Mr Jurin said.

He said the NCPO’s perceived attempts to delay lifting a ban on political activities while also moving to court politicians and entice them to join a military-backed party have raised questions about the fairness and transparency of the lead-up to the election.

Mr Jurin also said the EC must exercise its authority to disqualify election candidates and poll winners who violate the regulations.

He referred to a new “orange card” that has been added to the EC’s existing yellow and red card penalties. An orange card would see the election rights of a winning candidate suspended for a year if the EC has evidence they are involved in election fraud.

The EC’s authority to issue an orange card is limited to before the poll results are announced and its decision cannot be challenged.

“Anti-fraud mechanisms must be applied to all parties. They will be effective unless the EC serves as a paper tiger,’’ Mr Jurin said.

Pheu Thai key figure Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan said having a fraud-free election would depend on how rigorously the public and party members get involved.

Party members can do their bit by selecting appropriate candidates through the primary system, she said, acting public participation will remain limited until the ban is lifted.