Enormous criticism has piling up on the puppet Election Commission for looking dumb and dumbfounded about the numerous accusations of cheating by the military junta’s Palang Pracharath Party.
The most recent accusation is that party leader, Uttama Savanayana, the junta cabinet minister for industry, was elected leader before he was a member of the party.
Then there’s the Facebook video and claims of party recruitment and vote-buying. On that, Palang Pracharath member Pikit Srichana filed a computer crime charge against Kiatburut Panlert who posted the video.
This follows the claims and documented accusations about the party’s fund-raising banquet. Palang Pracharath denies everything.
On the welfare cards scam, however, on Saturday, it was “claimed a district chief in Khon Kaen province, together with a potential PPRP [Palang Pracharath] MP candidate, handed out welfare cards to people. The district chief allegedly told people if they wanted more cards, they should elect PPRP.”
With all of these “cases” piling up, and despite the EC actually defending Palang Pracharath, it has decided to “investigate.”
After initially saying it would wait for Palang Pracharath to report on its banquet in about a month, the EC says it is now “investigating,” and “saying results of the investigation are expected in up to two months.”
Two months? That would be about 24 February 2019, the day some expect the election will take place.
Seriously?
Palang Pracharath also states that it is investigating itself. On the welfare cards its says:
The party is now strictly following the law, which requires it to take action to stop any alleged misconduct, he said. More action will be taken when facts from the party’s own investigation into the case become available….
The party has also declared that it had nothing to do with the state welfare card distribution. It told all prospective candidates what they could and could not do to avoid violating the law….
Seriously?
Update 1: We owe readers and apology. We got the puppet agencies confused on the title of this post. We have changed it from NACC to EC. Sorry.
Update 2: The EC is confusing us. We are not sure if the EC is confused too. A Thai PBS report states that EC secretary-general Charoongwit Poomma has let it be known that “election officials had been keeping a close watch on the activities of parties and individual candidates and had collected evidence of suspected wrongdoings which would be used to deal with the wrongdoers after the election.” Which “activities”? He “cited such questionable activities as fund raising dinners of the pro-junta Palang Pracharat party, the distribution of welfare cards, the handouts of cash and rice.”
If he thinks Palang Pracharath is engaging in “questionable activities” what sense does it make to “deal with the wrongdoers” after the election is held? We know that usually the EC deals with campaign offenses after the election, but this is a new election regime. How will that impact the declaring of the election? What will it mean for by-elections? How does it impact the selection of a prime minister?
Political Prisoners in Thailand 