The Constitutional Court ruled that five former demonstration leaders of the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) must lose their status as House representatives after the Criminal Court sentenced them to jail.
The ruling responded to the Election Commission’s request for the court to determine if the Member of Parliament status of the five people should end after the Criminal Court gave them jail terms and deprive them of electoral rights on Feb 24 for their past street protests against the Yingluck Shinawatra administration. The five people were detained on Feb 24-26 pending their request for a temporary release and appeals and the detention was a condition that ended their MP status.
The five are three Democrat Party MPs Chumpol Julsai, Issara Somchai and Thaworn Senneam and two Palang Pracharath Party MPs Buddhipongse Punnakanta and Nataphol Teepsuwan.
The Constitutional Court stated that the constitution prohibited the people who lost their electoral rights from running for an MP election and therefore the MP status of the five people must end. The court referred to Section 101(6) of the constitution which prohibits MP candidacy for people sentenced to jail and imprisoned.
Their MP status must end although their legal case has not been finalized because MPs must not have a tarnished reputation concerning their public services, the Constitutional Court said.
The court also cited Section 96(2) of the constitution which prohibits the persons whose electoral rights were revoked from exercising their electoral rights on an election date. (TNA)
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