Election Commission sticks to guns on provincial poll panels

The Election Commission (EC) has insisted on keeping its provincial election committees but agreed to allow changes in their composition.

The EC raised the matter yesterday during a meeting with a National Legislative Assembly panel scrutinising the draft organic law on the EC — one of the three legislative bills crucial to organising the next general election.

The other organic bills concern the political parties and the election of MPs.

Speaking after the meeting, EC chairman Supachai Somcharoen said the EC told the panel that the provincial EC bodies were necessary and tried to explain why these panels were preferable to election inspectors proposed by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC).

The CDC has proposed introducing election inspectors to help the EC monitor elections nationwide, replacing existing provincial election committees.

Under the proposal, each province would have five to eight election inspectors.

Of them, two would be native to the province while the rest would come from elsewhere.

The idea is to prevent local politicians exerting influence over provincial election officers.

EC member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn insisted the provincial EC panels must be retained.

Responding to criticism that provincial EC officers were influenced by local politicians, Mr Somchai admitted that in the past the EC wanted provincial panels to be made up of local officials such as provincial governors and police chiefs as it was easier to mobilise their personnel and resources to support the commission in its work.

But this approach is no longer necessary as the EC now has the authority to order any agency to help it organise an election, Mr Somchai said.

He said the EC also proposed at the meeting that each provincial EC panel be made up of people from five professional groups, not government officials.

The five professional groups are those that could lend their expertise to holding an election. They would be legal experts and those with experience in investigation, those experienced in organisational management, people from the civil sector, and those who specialised in educating the public about politics, Mr Somchai said.

Ideally, the EC wants each provincial panel to serve as a board overseeing each provincial office, and the panel would not be allowed to interfere in any cases involving election law violations, Mr Somchai said.