Witthaya admits he wants Interior Ministry to stage elections

 

 

National Reform Steering assemblyman Witthaya Kaewparadai admitted Monday that he was the one who proposed that the Interior Minister should take over from the Election Commission to stage the next election under the supervision of the National Council for Peace and Order.

 

The former Democrat MP pointed out that the EC had been responsible for holding elections for the past decade and, yet, it could not get rid of vote buying, so he proposed that the Interior Ministry should help ease the EC’s burden by taking over its responsibility to hold elections.

 

He argued that the Interior Ministry today was totally different from the one about 30 years ago as many of the departments which used to come under the jurisdiction of the ministry had been separated and placed under other ministries.

 

“Provincial governors today can barely order anybody to do as they wish,” said Mr Witthaya. He noted that his proposal was just an idea and, in the past, attempts to restructure the EC had failed to get the approval of the Constitution Drafting Committee “so we have to do it through the organic law.”

 

The NRSA member insisted that his proposal was not intended to appease the NCPO because members of the NCPO will not contest the election.

Another NRSA member, Nikorn Chamnong, however, argued that it was not possible for the Interior Ministry to stage elections in lieu of the EC because the Constitution specifies clearly that the responsibility rests with the EC.

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/witthaya-admits-wants-interior-ministry-stage-elections/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2016-09-05

In the other newspaper there was also an article in which they (maybe the same guy, I don't remember) proposed elections without allowing campaigning.

10 minutes ago, candide said:

In the other newspaper there was also an article in which they (maybe the same guy, I don't remember) proposed elections without allowing campaigning.

They might as well stage the election without allowing either campaigning or voting, let's be honest. The policies and overseers are already fixed, so what does it matter who the executives are?

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

the Interior Ministry should help ease the EC’s burden by taking over its responsibility to hold elections.

The  Steering-Assembly man is aiming to put EC out of business by relieving them of their duties, planning ahead to guarantee future inactive posts