The Election Commission (EC) has taken legal action against Pattana Sapso, the Pheu Thai Party MP for Sakon Nakhon, following an investigation that found he had posted online canvassing for votes during the prohibited hours leading up to the May 14 general election, thereby violating election laws.
According to the EC's release on Friday, the investigation was prompted by a complaint against Mr Pattana, a Pheu Thai candidate for Constituency 4 in Sakon Nakhon, accusing him of violating Sections 70 and 79 of the Election Act of 2018.
In the complaint, from 6.55am on May 14, the election day, Mr Pattana reposted a message on his Facebook page that had initially been shared on Pheu Thai's Facebook page on May 13. The message invited constituents to attend a major Pheu Thai rally, featuring a speech by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the party's prime ministerial candidate and daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In Mr Pattana's post, he also shared the party's video clip campaigning for votes, lasting about four minutes and 55 seconds.
Election laws ban online campaigning from 6pm on the eve of the polling day until the end of the election.
In his defence statement, Mr Pattana said that he may have inadvertently reposted Pheu Thai's message on his Facebook page without an intention to do so and was unaware of how it happened.
Mr Pattana said that on May 13 at 5pm he posted on his Facebook page, declaring to cease his electronic campaigns from 6.00pm until the end of the election.
However, the EC found Mr Pattana's claim that he might have reposted the party's message and the video clip out of carelessness was unjustifiable.
There are sufficient grounds of support the allegation that Mr Pattana had violated Sections 70 and 79 of the Election Act of 2018, said the EC in its release, adding Mr Pattana is, therefore, subject to legal action.