“Big Jazz” asks the Election Commission to investigate the qualifications of the candidate for “Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organization President”

EC, "Big Jazz" assigns legal department to petition EC to investigate candidate for "Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organization President" for lack of qualifications after being found guilty and sent to court for corruption case. Mr. Panat Khetsantia, the legal team of Pol. Lt. Gen. Kamronwit Toopkrachang, former president of Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organization, submitted a letter to the EC requesting the revocation of Mr. Chan Puangphet's right to run for president of Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organization because he lacks the qualifications to run for president of PAO due to the National Council for Peace and Order's Order No. 35/2560 ordering him to stop performing his duties and be removed from office without compensation. Although the Prime Minister ordered him to return to his original duties, in 2021 the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) resolved to indict him for corruption in the procurement of relief bags in 2012 and filed a lawsuit with the Criminal Court for Corruption. Mr. Panat said that the petition submitted to the EC this time was that the candidate's application for the PAO president was unlawful because he lacked qualifications. In 2017, the NCPO had ordered him to stop performing his duties and in 2021, the NACC found him guilty of corruption. At present, the EC has not yet certified the election results for the president of the Pathum Thani PAO. We believe that since we have such evidence, we have submitted the petition. When asked if Pol. Lt. Gen. Kamronwit previously stated that he would not file a complaint, Mr. Panat said that Pol. Lt. Gen. Kamronwit did not mind the win or loss, but this was a legal issue that would affect the last election. That is, the individuals who had problems with their qualifications and the EC did not find out or had whatever reason, because the order to stop performing their duties was an NCPO order in 2017 and in 2020 when they applied, there was no NCPO, so the EC may not have checked with the said agency to see if they had been ordered to stop performing their duties. Because if they were found guilty, the result would be to lose their right to run for election from the day they were on duty. This is a law that everyone must follow, not Pol. Lt. Gen. Kamronwit's business. 'You yourself said that if you lose, you lose. But the legal team suggested that this is a legal matter, not just you. But it must be a precedent that if a person who has been indicted can still run for election, no matter where or how they run, it must be clearly checked whether they have the qualifications to accept or not,' said Mr. Panat. When asked if Pol. Lt. Gen. Kamronwit wanted the election to be voided and a new election to be held, Mr. Panat said that he wanted the case to reach its finality, that the actions of the individuals who applied for the election, if they were guilty of misconduct, especially those involved in corruption, could they apply to be elected as executives at both the local and national levels? Because according to Section 50 of the Local Government Election Act 2019, the characteristics that are prohibited from applying for the election are (8) having been ordered to leave the civil service, government agencies, or state enterprises due to corruption in their duties or considered to have committed corruption or misconduct in the civil service, which the provincial administrative organization president who the person used to hold the position and was charged with is considered a government official because even though he was ordered to stop performing his duties and was ordered to return to the position, he was eventually charged with a crime, along with Sections 81 and 53, which still has the issue of whether he will be able to perform his duties if he is certified. 'This case is a legal matter that must be considered as a precedent. If a disqualified person has been accused of corruption and the court has accepted the case before, can they still run? The question is, if the court has accepted the case before, but they can still run, will it be wrong? It should be a precedent or standard that can be applied in the future. That's why I want the EC to make a decision,' said Mr. Panat. The reporter said that during the interview, Mr. Panat tried to avoid mentioning Mr. Chan's name, only stating that he was one of the applicants. Source: Thai News Agency