The inquiry committee appointed by the Election Commission (EC) to give input on whether Move Forward Party Leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s holding of shares in a media firm ITV breached the organic law on the election of MPs has indicated it saw fit for the EC to drop the petition.
The inquiry committee was tasked with determining whether Pita’s holding of 42,000 shares in defunct media firm ITV breached Section 151 of the organic law on the election of MPs, as the shares were held while Pita was running in the May 14th general election.
In proposing that the EC drop the petition, the committee reasoned that taking legal action in accordance with Section 151 would result in a criminal case proceeding that required clear witnesses and evidence. However, the committee did not find that ITV was operating a business nor was it generating income from any media operation.
The inquiry committee has summarized its findings and submitted the summary to the secretary-general of the EC. The latter has assigned his deputy to provide copies of the summary to members of a subcommittee set up to deliberate the matter in accordance with EC regulations. This subcommittee will later provide its take on the matter to the EC, which will then make its consideration known.
According to various commentators, the subcommittee is expected to undertake additional investigation and ask Pita to give his explanation on the matter. The subcommittee might also wait for a ruling from the Constitutional Court, which had been asked by the EC to interpret Pita’s MP status due to his holding of the media firm shares. (NNT)
