The National Legislative Assembly has voted to cancel the selection of telecom commissioners and to send the list of 14 candidates back to the screening panel for a recheck of their qualifications.
After a three-hour meeting on Thursday, the NLA voted 118-25 to cancel the selection, with 20 abstentions.
They were supposed to pick half of the 14 names as new commissioners of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) but decided to send back the short-listed candidate names for a background recheck.
NLA whip Somchai Sawaengkarn said the suitability of eight of them were questionable. He did not elaborate or name the candidates in question.
Related laws stipulate that in such a selection, the number of candidates to choose from must be at least two times the required number.
The assemblymen were concerned about legal wrangles if they go ahead with the selection process, he said.
Not all members agreed with the decision, however. Tuang Inthachai urged the NLA proceed. He reasoned the NLA had no authority to judge the candidates because they had already been screened and checked by the screening panel.
The final 14 candidates include two incumbent NBTC deputy secretaries-general -- Korkij Danchaivichit and AVM Thanapant Raicharoen.
The present NBTC board is working in acting capacity because its six-year term expired in October 2017.