Electoral body urged to probe UTN event
Petition accusations panned as ‘nonsense’
Two Seri Ruam Thai Party members have petitioned the Election Commission (EC) to investigate whether a recent United Thai Nation (UTN) Party general assembly violated election law.
The petition was submitted, along with video clips, by Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, policy steering chairman of the Seri Ruam Thai Party and Veera Somkwamkid, chairman of the party’s anti-corruption strategy.
In the petition, they claimed the UTN used more than 100 buses and passenger vans to transport people from other provinces to attend the meeting at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok on Jan 9.
While the law on the election of MPs bans transporting people to polling stations on election day, it is not clear whether the law can apply to this case, they said, adding that the EC should still investigate the case, as they suspected that those transported to the event might have been paid to do so.
The pair also claimed the party handed out about 4,000 items, such as T-shirts, caps and flags, worth about 1 million baht, to those attending the meeting.
Even though the T-shirts have signs showing they are the party’s assets, they were not returned to the party after the meeting, and the attendees were allowed to take them home. The EC should investigate whether this was allowed by law, the petition said.
The pair also claimed that a speech made during the meeting by Trairong Suwannakhiri, a former key figure of the Democrat Party who is now a UTN member, contained abusive language.
The speech, they said, also made improper reference to the monarchy as well as relations between Thailand and other countries, which could have violated EC regulations, according to the petition.
Even though the UTN said that a party general assembly was held, the meeting did not follow the order of an agenda, the petition said.
“The general assembly may not have actually taken place. The meeting may have been used as a front to seek voters’ support,” according to the petition.
“We want the EC to look into these issues and give a ruling that will set a precedent for other political parties,” it said. “But if the EC cannot do so, it must forward the matter to the Supreme Court for a ruling. Violators will face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of between 20,000 and 200,000 baht and will be banned from running in elections for 20 years under the election law.”
Mr Veera said if the EC fails to take action, it can be sued for dereliction of duty under Section 157 of the Criminal Code.
Mr Trairong yesterday shrugged off the petition, saying it was nonsense. Wittaya Kaewparadai, a member of the UTN executive board, said the party acted in line with the law and that he is ready to provide an explanation to the EC.