By Thai Vista News Reporters
THE ELECTION commissioners would be inclined to keep most suspects in the 2024 senatorial rigging allegations intact and unprosecuted, albeit at the risk of being finally found guilty in court on charges of duty negligence and misconduct which could possibly land themselves terms in prison, a partisan source said today (Aug.17).
The seven commissioners four of whom had been handpicked by an overwhelming majority of the current senators would be ultimately tempted to not forward historic lawsuits against many of the total 229 electoral rigging suspects for fear that they would probably otherwise expose the alleged vote-buying, electoral rigging shenanigans illegitimately manipulated by persons associated with the Bhumjaithai, core of the current coalition government.
A subcommittee of the polling agency had earlier investigated and concluded that as many as 138 out of the total 200 senators plus 91 persons allegedly connected with the largest ruling party surreptitiously steered by de facto Bhumjaithai boss Newin Chidchob had been evidently involved among the total 229 in the premeditated, electoral rigging conspiracy. But most of the commissioners would probably resolve to keep most of the suspects, including current Bhumjaithai members of cabinet, controversially intact from any lawsuits to file to the Supreme Court sooner or later.
The polling agency is largely expected at the end of this month to publicly announce whether any of those suspects will be prosecuted in court or even whether all allegations earlier prepared by that subcommittee will be entirely debunked and dropped, purportedly for lack of truthful evidence.
A majority of the seven commissioners would eventually take the risk of getting themselves put in jail on duty-negligence and misconduct charges in their desperate effort to protect most of the pro-Bhumjaithai senators and those Bhumjaithai members of cabinet, including Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Transport Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, Deputy Prime Minister Songsak Thongsri, viewed as personally close to the de facto party boss, and Prime Minister’s Office Ministers Paradorn Prisnanuntakul, Napinthorn Srisanpang and Suksamruay Wataneeyakul, among others.
Citing contentious conclusions earlier wrapped up by another subcommittee to completely refute the other one’s reports supposedly for lack of truthful evidence, the commissioners would probably decide to not lodge any lawsuits against any of the 229 suspects at all, the partisan source said.
The commissioners might probably as well choose to prosecute no more than a couple of dozens of current senators out of the total 138 suspected senior lawmakers for alleged involvement in the electoral rigging conspiracy in addition to some “small fish” among those allegedly associated with Newin’s camp.
Nevertheless, a lawsuit would likely be filed in court by opposition lawmakers or political activists against the commissioners primarily on duty-negligence and misconduct charges if they eventually failed to forward any cases to the Supreme Court in relation to the alleged senatorial rigging conspiracy in the foreseeable future.
According to the subcommittee which had earlier investigated and accused those suspects, the senatorial rigging conspiracy had been meticulously designed by young lawmakers attached to Newin’s camp who produced flash drives showcasing the rigging conspiracy during a meeting of the party’s executive board, all hired contestants had had their cellphones temporarily impounded during pre-arranged meetings and orientations on bloc-vote scripts for the national-level senatorial election at pre-arranged venues in lower-central provinces and the winning candidates attended an assimilation of “policies” given by Newin at a Bangkok hotel.
The subcommittee had also found out each of the manipulated candidates had been handed out kickbacks in cash averagely amounting to 10,000 baht at district level, 50,000 baht at provincial level and 200,000 baht at national level in exchange for their rigging votes after they had been instructed to pick certain, fellow contestants among themselves in the triple-tiered senatorial races where no constituents anywhere had taken part as had been otherwise the case of an election for MPs.
If finally found guilty as charged in the Supreme Court, the largest ruling party could possibly be dissolved with all their executive board members including the prime minister-cum-interior minister being sentenced to jail terms or banned from political activity at all levels for a number of years.
CAPTION:
Election Commission logo. Above photo – Public Relations Department, Front Page – Workpointtoday.com
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