BANGKOK, 9 February 2014, The Election Commissioner has sent a letter suggesting the government issue another royal decree for a re-election in 8 southern provinces and will ask the constitutional court to rule on the issue should the government comply with its request.
Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, the EC commissioner in charge of election management, expressed his concerns over 28 constituencies in 8 provinces in the South that were not able to carry out elections as planned. The 8 provinces included Songkhla, Phatthalung, Trang, Krabi, Phuket, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, and Chumphon.
According to him, the EC has suggested that the government issue another royal decree calling for another round of voting in those provinces. However, questions have been raised whether or not the issuance of such decree is legally possible. The EC will have to wait for the government’s decision on the issue. If the government is unwilling to issue the decree out of concern that doing so might be in violation of the constitution, the EC will petition the constitutional court to rule on it.
Moreover, the EC will on February 17 hold a meeting, during which twenty participants will discuss and exchanged ideas regarding election-related problems the country has been facing. Among the twenty key figures to be invited to take part in the discussion are Deputy Prime Minister Pongthep Thepkanjana, Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, and Sodsri Satayathum, a former election commissioner.
