MPs-designate verification tipped to be announced next Wednesday

By Thai Newsroom Reporters

THE ELECTION COMMISSION WILL LIKELY declare the verification of most MPs-designate around next Wednesday following the May 14 election.

A total of 329 MPs-designate successfully running in constituency-based mode plus 100 others vying in party-listed mode have been so far verified, leaving 71 others currently under probe on grounds of alleged vote-buying and other alleged breaches of the election law, according to a source in the polling agency.

Nonetheless, the verification of most of the MPs-designate who may be spared any probe by the polling agency is largely expected to be announced to the public by June 21 whilst that of the rest is yet to follow at a later date.

The polling agency is legally provided a maximum of 60-day time after the May 14 election to verify a minimum of 95% of all 500 MPs-designate, accounting for 475, thus given the deadline on July 13.

Meanwhile, Election Commission secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee has launched an internal investigation into a reported leak of the polling agency’s papers involving the 71 MPs-designate suspected of having somehow broken the election law. Of that number, 30 MPs-designate belong to the Move Forward-led coalition partners and 41 others to non-coalition parties.

The leaked papers have been widely circulated on social media amidst pressure exponentially mounted on the polling agency to speed up its MPs verification process.

As soon as the MPs-designate are verified, they are to convene in the next couple of weeks to select a House speaker and then attend a joint House/Senate meeting to pick a prime minister in the following week.

CAPTION:

Top: Election Commission’s logo overlaid on a meeting of the commissioners. Photo: Matichon

Front Page: Election Commission logo. Photo: Thai Rath

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