The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is seeking retroactive impeachment and criminal charges against two former Pheu Thai Party MPs in connection with the alleged swapping of charter amendment draft bills and voting for fellow MPs in parliament in 2013.
The decision was announced Thursday by NACC member Supa Piyajitti.
Ex-Nonthaburi MP Udomdej Rattanasathien was accused of swapping a charter amendment draft previously submitted to the secretariat of the House of Representatives on March 20, 2013 with another presented at a joint House sitting on April 1, 2013 without parliamentary authorisation.
The amendment sought to add a new clause stipulating the then elected senators could serve successive terms.
The NACC agreed Mr Udomdej had abused his power and the commission will send its findings as well as its recommendation to indict the former MP in the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders to the attorney-general, Ms Supa said.
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) will also be asked to decide whether Mr Udomdej will also be impeached retroactively. If impeached, he will be banned from politics for five years.
The NACC found former Sakon Nakhon MP Narisorn Thongthirach had used MP ID cards to vote on fellow MPs' behalf in parliament during a parliamentary session, which constitutes an abuse of power and violates the anti-graft law, Ms Supa said.
The anti-graft body will ask the state attorney to indict him in the Supreme Court and the NLA to impeach him.
He was among former MPs accused of swiping several identification cards to register votes for absent colleagues when parliament convened to consider the Senate-related amendment.
However, the NACC agreed not to seek criminal action against former Kalasin MP Khomdej Chaisiwamongkol and former Maha Sarakham MP Yutthapong Jaratsathien, both from Pheu Thai, who were linked to the proxy vote case.
Ms Supa said there was not enough evidence to confirm the two men had asked Mr Narisorn to cast votes on their behalf using their ID cards in parliament. The criminal charges, raised against them by the NACC's subcommittee which investigated the matter, were therefore dropped.
Also, the NACC said ex-House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont had failed to examine the swapped bills, as he was duty-bound to do, and intended to rush parliamentary debates to make changes in the draft to only one day, Ms Supa said.