Walking a poll tightrope

Provincial poll inspectors are being chosen for the first time in the country’s history and they have already threatened action that could have unpleasant political ramifications and potentially put the Senate election on the line.

The time has come to pick 616 poll inspectors nationwide, according to the Election Commission (EC). There will be between five and eight of them per province.

The inspectors will replace the directors of the provincial election committees. The directors, who have remained in the post for years, are seen as being susceptible to political influence at the provincial level, which critics say could compromise their impartiality when it comes to supervising the elections.

The inspectors, on the other hand, are appointed “seasonally” to work only in the lead-up to and for the duration of an election. That means there will always be new batches of inspectors for every poll.

That should, at least in theory, deter top provincial poll supervisors from meddling in political affairs or being influenced by them. As such, it could make the polls more transparent and accountable, according to political experts.

But the fact that the inspectors are being named by election commissioners, who will soon be replaced, and with senators due to be selected later this year — also for the first time under the current charter — its thought a political mess could ensue.

This has unleashed a barrage of criticism against the outgoing poll commissioners who are accused of overstepping their mark. Critics insist the job of finding the inspectors should be left to the five commissioners-designate as a matter of etiquette.

However, outgoing EC member Boonsong Noisophon said the commissioners had no choice but to forge ahead and appoint the inspectors quickly, or they could be accused of neglecting their duties.

The sooner the first poll inspectors assume office, the more time they will have to familiarise themselves with the task of preparing for senator selection. Upper House members will be chosen after a related organic bill is enacted, possibly next month.

According to Mr Boonsong, the candidates for election inspectors were shortlisted by the Office of the EC before April. But there was a hiccup after the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) rejected the first group of EC commissioner candidates.

The ensuing delay in finding replacements disrupted the process of selecting the inspectors. Instead of this being resumed, and new poll commissioners picking up where the EC Office left off, the present commissioners will now have to make the selections.

“The [outgoing] EC has to keep moving forward because we are running a tight schedule,” Mr Boonsong said.

If the present commissioners dilly-dally they may find themselves in hot water, he added. But the prospect of being charged with neglecting their duty may be the least of their concerns.

A number of NLA lawmakers are exploring the option of amending the organic law on the EC, which carries a stipulation in regard to the EC’s power to select poll inspectors.

They are seeking to curb the EC’s authority so it would not be in a position to change inspector selection criteria at its own discretion.

Political experts say if a curb is successfully imposed through a legislative amendment, it could reset the entire process by scrapping any appointments that are close to being sealed.

That would be a huge waste of time and could constrain the EC as it tries to tackle problems related to the cross-voting method, which is being deployed to find 50 of the 250 senators at the end of the year.

The method has been slammed for being overly complicated. It requires that Senate candidates vote within their professional and social groups to choose the senators, and calls for the poll inspectors to prepare early, making the timeliness of their appointments all the more crucial, experts contend.