Election Commission of Thailand
คณะกรรมการการเลือกตั้ง (กกต.) | |
Lak Si, Bangkok, 10210 | |
Annual budget | 8,247 million baht (FY2019) |
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Agency executives |
|
Website | Official website |
Thailand portal |
The Election Commission (
Roles and responsibilities
The primary role of the commission is to ensure that
The EC's responsibilities include the organization, management, and counting of all elections and voting in the kingdom. It advises the
Budget
In FY2019 the EC is allocated 8,247 million baht, more than tripling from the FY2018 budget of 2,265 million baht due to national elections in 2019.[2]
Structure
The Election Commission of Thailand is composed of a committee of five members, one
Office | Name | Role | Since |
---|---|---|---|
Chairman of the Election Commission | Ittiporn Boonprakong | General Administration | 12 August 2018 |
Election Commissioner | Santhat Siriananpaiboon | Election Administration | 12 August 2018 |
Election Commissioner | Thawatchai Pakorn | Investigation and Adjudication | 12 August 2018 |
Election Commissioner | Chatchai Chanpraisri | Political Party Affairs and Referendum | 12 August 2018 |
Election Commissioner | Pakorn Mahannop | Public Participation | 12 August 2018 |
Secretary-General | Jarungvith Phumma | Election Commission's Secretariat | 12 August 2018 |
History
Prior to 1992, the responsibility of overseeing elections fell on the Ministry of Interior or Mahatthai Ministry. Under the premiership of Anand Panyarachun after the Thai general election of 1992, the prime minister realised the need to create a central and independent body, whose sole purpose was to regulate and manage elections. As a result, on 22 March 1992 the "Committee to Administer and Investigate Elections to the House of Representatives" (Thai: "คณะกรรมการติดตามและสอดส่องดูแลการเลือกตั้งสมาชิกสภาผู้แทนราษฎร") was created, a precursor of the commission. The commission in its current form was created by the 1997 constitution of Thailand.
2006 House election
The
On 3 April 2006, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) petitioned the Administrative Court to suspend the results of the election and accused the Election Commission of violating voter privacy. It accused the commission of placing voting booths so that voters' backs were to the public, when in all previous elections, voters faced the public, with a barrier one-half meter tall at the front of the booth separating the voter from the public. The commission claimed the new arrangement was designed to prevent various forms of polling fraud including the use of cameras by voters to take photographs of their ballots. After the 2005 election, cameras and camera phones were banned from voting stations due to fears that canvassers would demand ballot photographs in return for money.[3][4] However, the PAD claimed that this allowed onlookers to peek over voters' shoulders and see who they voted for.[5][6]
The elections were eventually declared invalid by Thailand's Constitutional Court, which found the positioning of voting booths violated voter privacy. The Constitutional Court forced the Election Commission to resign over its management of the April elections. The court failed to persuade the EC president to resign. It did, however, prevent the Senate from appointing a replacement for commissioner Jaral Buranapansri, who had died.[citation needed] This prevented the commission from achieving a quorum.[citation needed] It later found the remaining commissioners guilty of malfeasance and jailed them for one night. An entirely new commission was appointed.
2007 House election
A number of
By-elections were held on 13 January, 17 January, 20 January (the day before the first session of the newly elected parliament) and 27 January 2008.[9] The Electoral Commission was still looking into allegations of fraud by PPP deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyaphairat. If given a red card, the PPP faced dissolution. PPP officials stated that they are not worried about dissolution, and that they would simply find a new party instead; local reports stated that a likely candidate for takeover by PPP members would be the Thai Land Power Party (Palang Pandin Thai Party).[10]
Disqualified were:
- PPP
- red cards for Prakit Poldej, Pornchai Srisuthiyothin, Rungroj Thongsri – Buri Ram Province constituency 1[11]
- yellow cards for Boonlert Krudkhunthod, Linda Cherdchai, Prasert Chanruangthong – Nakhon Ratchasima Province Constituency 3[12]
- yellow card for Thanatorn Losunthorn – Lampang Province Constituency 1[13]
- yellow cards for Surathin Phimarnmekhin, Anan Sriphan, Cherdchai Wichianwan – Udon Thani Province[14]
- yellow cards for Prasop Busarakham and one other MP, with Busarakham's card changed to red laterUdon Thani Province Constituency 3[16]
- red cards for Prakit Poldej, Pornchai Srisuthiyothin, Rungroj Thongsri –
- Thai Nation Party
- red cards for two MPs – Chai Nat Province[16]
- red cards for two MPs –
- Democrat Party
- yellow card for Suthat Jansaengsi – Phetchabun Province[14]86
- yellow card for Suthat Jansaengsi –
- For the Motherland Party
- yellow cards for two MPs[17]
2008 Senate election
No major event occurred.
2011 General election
On 19 July, both
See also
- Elections in Thailand
- Constitution of Thailand
- House of Representatives of Thailand
- List of ministries of Thailand
References
- ^ "Thai election agency criticised after snags in early voting". Reuters. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Thailand's Budget in Brief; Fiscal Year 2019. Bangkok: Bureau of the Budget. 2018. p. 94. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ picturephoning.com: Thai voters banned from using mobile phone cameras at polling booths Archived 22 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rojas, Peter. "Thailand bans cameraphone pics in voting booths". Engadget. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ "Administrative Court urged to suspend poll results". The Nation. 7 February 2005. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008.
- ^ http://bangkokpost.net/News/03Apr2006_news02.php[dead link]
- ^ "3 elected candidates of winning party 'yellow-carded'". People's Daily. 26 December 2007.
- ^ "Thai election agency endorses 397 candidates winning general election". People's Daily. 3 January 2008.
- ^ "Thai election agency completes filling House seats". People's Daily. 29 January 2008.
- ^ "Thailand starts by-elections in Northeast". Xinhua News Agency. 13 January 2008. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008.
- ^ Bangkok Post: Top Stories[dead link]
- ^ "Nakhon Ratchasima Constituency 3 set to hold by-election 13 Jan". MCOT English News. 5 January 2008. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009.
- ^ "Poll agency issues yellow card to fourth PPP elected candidate". 5 January 2008. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015.
- ^ a b "Thai election agency issues more yellow cards to winning candidates". People's Daily. 7 January 2008.
- ^ "Thai election agency disqualifies poll winner candidate". People's Daily. 10 January 2008.
- ^ a b "Thai election agency disqualifies more winning candidates". People's Daily. 7 January 2008.
- ^ "Thailand starts third round by-elections". People's Daily. 20 January 2008.
- ^ "Jatuporn excluded due to failure to vote; further 94 candidates becoming new MPs". Thairath. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 30 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011.