The Election Commission (EC) is warning Senate candidates that they must strictly comply with the rules during the self-introduction stage, ahead of the first round of district-level elections on June 9.
“In a few days, the district election for senators will start,” EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee said in a message posted on Facebook on Sunday.
“I would like to thank all Senate candidates for the smooth [candidacy registration] and their compliance with the rules and regulations [in the registration process].”
He said candidates must be aware of the regulations governing the self-introduction stage of the election and strictly follow them.
The Senate election is taking place at district, provincial and national levels on June 9, 16 and 26, respectively. Candidates who make it through the district and provincial stages will stand for the final, national-level voting.
Mr Sawaeng said the law forbids candidates from hiring, being hired or coaxing people into registering as candidates. Candidates are also barred from receiving donations from politicians, he said.
He also stressed that candidates must not mislead people into a false understanding about their qualifications, eligibility, calibre or reputations.
Meanwhile, Sen Somchai Swangkarn on Facebook suggested that block-voting may be at play in the Senate race.
He said the names of some 149 candidates were already being “earmarked” to sail through the final stage, even before the district stage.
“Is there something amiss here?” he said.
“Is this the fault of the constitution or the EC’s rules?” he added.
He said the underlying question was whether block-voting was being plotted by political parties.
He added the EC must watch out for and keep a step ahead of any foul play in the election.
Apart from the 149 candidates who may be on course to be “shortlisted” for the national-level election, he said, many more candidates may be a part of a block-voting campaign.
A total of 46,206 people were found to have met the candidacy requirements after 2,020 others were invalidated due to their failure to meet the registration criteria.
The names of the Senate candidates have been issued by the EC both in writing and online through the commission’s website and mobile application.
The candidates whose names were not among those published by the EC can petition the Supreme Court to look into their case, without having to pay a fee.
