The Election Commission (EC) voted yesterday to clear Yaowapa Wongsawat, elder sister of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, of violating the poll law in a by-election in Chiang Mai province last year.
EC secretary-general Puchong Nutrawong said commissioners decided with a majority vote to dismiss the accusation by Democrat contender Kingkan Na Chiang Mai that Mrs Yaowapa had arranged for vehicles to transport voters to advance voting in San Kamphaeng and Doi Saket districts on April 12, 2013.
The EC examined evidence and viewed video recordings of 20 vehicles but did not find any connection between their owners and Mrs Yaowapa. Nor did it find any evidence to prove the vehicles were used to transport voters and persuade them to vote for Mrs Yaowapa.
Mrs Yaowapa won the by-election in Chiang Mai’s Constituency 3 on April 21 last year, securing over 67,000 votes against Ms Kingkan’s 21,000.
Mr Puchong also said the EC also considered a petition yesterday that it disqualify a Senate candidate in Nakhon Pathom for having an "irrelevant message" on his campaign posters.
The commission decided by a majority vote to punish Thanawat Khiangrungphet for the message he used in his posters. Instead of introducing himself as a candidate in the March 30 Senate election, Mr Thanawat's message stated that he opposes the “Thaksin regime”, fraud against rice growers and the murder of innocent children.
The EC will file a criminal suit to strip him of his electoral rights. Thongchai Srisukkhajon, the candidate-elect in Nakhon Pathom, filed the complaint against Mr Thanawat.
The EC has received 22 complaints in relation to the Senate election. They concern candidates in Bangkok, Chaiyaphum, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Pathom, Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Nong Bua Lam Phu and Ubon Ratchathani provinces.
In another development, the EC will decide next Tuesday if the cabinet secretariat can seek 970 million baht from the government’s central budget to repay advance spending of the Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order on its operations to deal with anti-government protesters.