A website set up by the Progressive Movement to encourage people to run in the Senate election has temporarily shut down after being targeted by the Election Commission (EC).
The poll body said earlier it was looking into alleged attempts to manipulate the election of new senators, warning aspiring candidates not to register with a potentially unlawful website.
On Friday night, a notice was posted on www.senate67.com saying that “due to unclear regulations of the EC”, it is temporarily inaccessible.
The EC said in a statement that encouraging people to form groups to contest the Senate election may violate election laws. Therefore, an investigation into alleged violations has been launched, it said.
The poll body also warned potential candidates against providing personal information and discussing their political stances on websites, including social media outlets.
The EC statement follows complaints that Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, chairman of the Progressive Movement, is trying to manipulate the new system to elect 200 senators to replace junta-appointed ones, whose terms will expire on May 10.
Mr Thanathorn, former leader of the now-defunct Future Forward Party, has been urging his supporters to become Senate election candidates. Otherwise, he says, those close to the current government would end up winning the most seats, and democracy would suffer.
He has said he wants to see about 100,000 people pay 2,500 baht each for the application fee to become representatives in the new Upper House.
The country is looking to elect senators from 20 professional groups. Only people who register as candidates can vote in the Senate poll.
Mr Thanathorn said he intended www.senate67.com to be used to network with other potential candidates ahead of the election.
As of 3pm on Wednesday, 1,278 people had registered, he said.
According to the EC statement, poll investigators are gathering information about the website, and if they find that the move is against the election law, legal action will be taken.
The Constitutional Court is currently considering a petition from the EC to dissolve the opposition Move Forward Party, the successor to Future Forward. The party has been accused of attempting to undermine the constitutional monarchy by advocating for changes to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law.
According to the 2017 charter drafted by the previous military regime, the new Senate will comprise 200 members and will not be directly elected by the public.
The applicants will vote among themselves over multiple rounds to eventually select 10 senators from each of the 20 eligible groups, with a reserve list of five candidates for each group.
The candidate application process is scheduled to begin on May 13. The elections at district, provincial and national levels will take place on June 9, June 16 and June 26, and the results will be announced on July 2.
It is estimated that approximately 100,000 people will stand in the Senate poll.
A notice posted on www.senate67.com says that “due to unclear regulations of the EC”, it is temporarily inaccessible.