Panel: Take away EC's 'red cards'

Panel: Take away EC's 'red cards'

A National Reform Council committee will propose that the Election Commission’s power to issue electoral penalty “cards” be transferred to the Courts of Justice.

The law and justice reform panel concluded Tuesday that EC membership should remain at five, but each member should serve a single term of five years, instead of the current seven.

Members should be empowered to only organise elections and collect evidence of electoral-law violations, but their power to hand out disqualifying "red cards" or "yellow card" suspensions should be revoked, the committee recommended.

That approach was suggested to prevent commissioners from having absolute power over an election and avoid questions over their neutrality, Seree Suwannapanon, head of the committee, said. 

Candidates slapped with a yellow card have their election-win voided, but are free to stand in a rerun election. Those hit with a red card are prohibited from participating in the poll rerun.

Mr Seree said the five commissioners' powers to issue red and yellow cards had partially contributed to "political rifts and chaos" that hit the country in past years, as the accused and their supporters protested the panel's decisions. Therefore, the job should be transferred to the Courts of Justice, he explained.

Mr Seree's committee also wanted election-fraud complaints to be finalised within two months of a poll, rather than having them drag on for years, as currently happens.

The panel also prepared recommendations covering National Anti-Corruption Commission members, agreeing that the number of members should remain at nine, but each commissioner should hold the position for six, instead of nine, years.

The anti-graft agency should investigate civil servants and politicians facing criminal charges only in relation to corruption, not those accused of breaching disciplinary codes of conduct, Mr Seree added.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (3)