A judge at the Administrative Court has advised the removal of certain Election Commission (EC) regulations that govern how Senate election candidates introduce themselves, following complaints from petitioners.

 

Activists and candidates filed a petition against the EC regulations, arguing that they overly restrict candidates’ use of social media and mass media to introduce themselves to the public. The court held its first hearing on the case yesterday.

 

The petitioners targeted specific EC regulations: Nos. 5, 7, 8, 11(2), and 11(5), implemented on April 27. They claimed these rules deter candidates from expressing their opinions publicly or giving interviews to the press. An injunction was also requested to temporarily suspend these regulations until a court ruling is made.

 

An Administrative Court judge prepared a written report summarising the arguments, facts, and laws involved in the dispute, and suggested that some regulations be scrapped.

 

Regulation No. 7 was highlighted, which permits candidates to introduce themselves using no more than two A4-sized pieces of paper to summarise their resumes for fellow candidates. This information is prohibited from being shared with the public.

 

The new Senate will comprise 200 members who will not be directly elected by the public. Instead, applicants will vote among themselves in three stages: district, provincial, and national.

 

The judge argued that many candidates were unfamiliar with each other, making the two A4 pieces of paper impractical. Additionally, the public would lack information about the candidates.

 

The judge recommended removing the phrases ‘no more than two A4 pieces of paper ‘ and ‘being introduced among themselves and not to the public’ from the regulation, deeming them contrary to the law.

 

Regulation No. 11(2), which prevents candidates from the media and advertising professions from using their careers to introduce themselves, was also criticised as discriminatory. The judge noted that candidates from other professional groups can leverage their careers to benefit their Senate campaigns.

 

The judge suggested that the restrictions were unfair and should be removed to ensure a level playing field for all candidates.

 

The court will continue to deliberate on the matter, taking into account the judge’s recommendations and the arguments presented by both sides, reported Bangkok Post.

 

By Mitch Connor

Picture courtesy of KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA from pexels.com

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-05-22

 

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Wow, I hope the restrictions will be removed.

It makes sense that everybody knows who wants to be senator.

It would be even better if journalists would research all the candidates and tell us details about them which they omitted.

Maybe one day Thailand will have a senate with qualified people who the public supports.

Makes zero difference. It's a sham. Senators should be elected in a national election along party lines. Oh wait! Can't have that. The Senate would comprised of majority of those who want reform and were elected by the public. This would be simply intollerable. Sounds like democracy. Silly me.

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The new Senate will comprise 200 members who will not be directly elected by the public. Instead, applicants will vote among themselves in three stages: district, provincial, and national.

The fix is in already.

Why would they need to introduce themselves to the public when the public does not vote for them?

 

It's crazy that the applicants are the ones voting for each other.

15 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Wow, I hope the restrictions will be removed.

It makes sense that everybody knows who wants to be senator.

It would be even better if journalists would research all the candidates and tell us details about them which they omitted.

Maybe one day Thailand will have a senate with qualified people who the public supports.

One newspaper claimed 31,000 people had asked for applications to apply for the Senate. The EC expects around 100,000 candidates. It would be a mammoth and inconceivable task to expect journalist to research each and every one in such a short space of time. Will they be vetted by the EC? Is the list available to the public in the initial stages? 

While the media can't investigate every Senate applicant, telling the public which ones are linked to the military, have criminal records etc., would allow the public to make its voice heard, whether they can vote or not 

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The new Senate will comprise 200 members who will not be directly elected by the public

Even in a one-party communist system, the public gets to vote. It just doesn't allow the public to select the candidates; the CP decides the best candidates, albeit by loyalty and usefulness to the party. 

5 hours ago, rwill said:

Why would they need to introduce themselves to the public when the public does not vote for them?

 

It's crazy that the applicants are the ones voting for each other.

not crazy, it's Thailand

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The petitioners targeted specific EC regulations: Nos. 5, 7, 8, 11(2), and 11(5), implemented on April 27. They claimed these rules deter candidates from expressing their opinions publicly or giving interviews to the press.

in other words, they deter free speech which never existed and never will, thus absolutely nothing new, same shameless election process