October 23, 2024
BANGKOK – The Constitutional Court’s nine judges voted unanimously on Tuesday to reject complaints against the Election Commission (EC) and its secretary-general over the senatorial election in June.
The complaints filed by Pinyo Boonruang and Kongdecha Chairat were rejected on the grounds that they should have been submitted to the ombudsman within 90 days after the election.
The court reasoned that Article 42 of the Organic Act on Procedures of the Constitutional Court requires complainants to submit their complaints to the ombudsman within 90 days of the event or action they believe violates their constitutional rights.
The last round of the senatorial election was held on June 26, and the complaints have only very recently been submitted.
Both complaints allege that the EC and its secretary-general had violated Article 213 of the charter.
Article 213 states: “A person whose rights or liberties guaranteed by the Constitution are violated, has the right to submit a petition to the Constitutional Court for a decision on whether such act is contrary to or inconsistent with the Constitution, according to the rules, procedures and conditions prescribed by the Organic Act on Procedures of the Constitutional Court”.
In his complaint, Pinyo alleged that the EC and the EC secretary-general had failed to require that voting in the senatorial election be done in secret balloting, so the election was not free and fair, which violated his rights.
The court said Pinyo could take the case to the courts of justice if he wants to invoke Article 213 because he believes the election was not free and fair, but he too must comply with the organic law.
Meanwhile, Kongdecha’s complaint simply alleged that the senatorial election violated the charter without specifying details and he invoked Article 213 to file the complaint. So, the judges resolved that the complaint should be filed in line with the organic law.
However, the court did not say if the deadline for submitting the complaint had expired or not.