PM: Focus on candidate quality

PM: Focus on candidate quality

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said Tuesday it did not matter which agencies end up being responsible for organising new elections because the quality of candidates was more important.

"The important things to consider are who will run for elections, whether or not they are good and competent people and whether they are quality politicians," Gen Prayut noted.

The prime minister said he personally felt it would not make any difference on which organisation stages the polls. However, he said having the Election Commission responsible for balloting followed international norms. He also admitted that making elections completely free of fraud will be a difficult task.

Gen Prayut's remarks came amid an on-going debate over a proposal by the National Reform Council to shift the responsibility of organising elections from the EC to the Interior and Education ministries.

The NRC suggested stripping the EC of its power to penalise poll candidates and organise elections, saying commisioners should merely supervise polls and prevent fraud. The power to stage elections and investigate fraud and irregularities should be separated, it said.

Gen Prayut gave a cooler response to a suggestion by NRC member Detrith Panjamoon that soldiers should help supervise polling to prevent fraud. The prime minister said troops already had been deployed near polling stations to maintain order in previous elections and noted that organising polls was not military's duty.

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