Bangkok: Kusumalawatee Sirikomut has approached the Ombudsman to escalate a case to the Constitutional Court concerning the ethical conduct of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. She alleges that Anutin's actions as acting governor to reassign governors nationwide and appoint district officers as election directors are indicative of election fraud preparation.
According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Kusumalawatee, who is running for MP with the Thai Progressive Party, lodged a formal complaint with the Ombudsman. Her request seeks an investigation into Anutin Charnvirakul in his roles as acting Prime Minister and acting Minister of Interior. The complaint focuses on his orders to transfer 55 provincial governors and permanent secretaries and appoint district officers across 400 constituencies as election directors. Additionally, Anutin allowed the Territorial Defense Volunteer printing house to produce ballot papers, which Kusumalawatee claims violates ethical standards under Sections 160 (4) and (5) of the Constitution. She is calling for the Constitutional Court to assess whether his ministerial role should be individually terminated.
Ms. Kusumalawatee revealed she consulted various legal departments and filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) over Anutin's gubernatorial transfers during his interim leadership. She highlighted the specific attempt to move the Governor of Buriram Province to the Department of Provincial Administration, interpreting this as a maneuver for election fraud and constitutional breach. Despite her efforts, legal action was deemed unfeasible by several agencies. Consequently, she pursued an ethical misconduct complaint, as the transfers of senior officials went unreported to the EC. She turned to the Ombudsman after receiving assurances from its senior officials of their support for the nation. Moreover, she urged the Ombudsman to scrutinize the National Anti-Corruption Commission's (NACC) sluggish investigation into her grievances against Anutin, particularly regarding the illegal runway and Khao Kradong incidents.
"I noticed from the Senate election that there was a drive to dominate all three branches of government: legislative, judicial, and executive. My complaints were dismissed wherever I went. For instance, the Territorial Defense Volunteer printing press printed an excessive number of ballots, leading to vote count errors and discrepancies. This strengthens my belief that there was nationwide election fraud beyond collusion in the Senate election," Ms. Kusumalawatee stated.