Some groups of losing candidates in Wednesday’s final vote of the Senate election have asked the Election Commission to investigate what they believe to be electoral fraud.
Surachai Pornjindachote, one of 100 potential substitutes named in the event that any winners are later disqualified, led a group of losing candidates in petitioning the EC on Friday.
He said he found it very unusual that more than 20 people in the same professional group that he was in cast their votes for exactly the same group of candidates.
Mr Surachai said a number of candidates wearing similar yellow shirts and black jackets were led into the voting hall on Wednesday by someone who looked and acted like a tour guide.
All of these irregularities were certainly captured on security cameras at Muang Thong Thani; hence, the EC should examine the video, he said.
Moreover, he said, certain winning candidates’ claimed educational backgrounds and work experience seemed too good to be true and should be carefully examined by the EC again.
“From what I’ve observed, the EC must have missed some crucial details [in the past qualification check on these candidates],” he said.
Many have also noted how odd it appears that 14 senators-elect come from Buri Ram, the stronghold of the Bhumjaithai Party, well-ahead of second-ranked Bangkok with nine.
Some other losing candidates on Friday petitioned the Supreme Court to look into alleged election-rigging, Mr Surachai said.
“You said you knew what was going on. But if in the end no one is actually caught [and punished for manipulating the election], that would mean you have failed to do your job properly,” said Saharat Malasri, another losing candidate, referring to the EC.
According to Mr Saharat, more than 10 candidates in his professional group did not receive any votes at all, even though they were allowed to vote for themselves in the intra-group election.
This led him to suspect these candidates possibly entered the race with a hidden agenda to vote for other candidates for reasons that deserve the EC’s attention.
Another group of losing candidates who were all female lodged a separate petition seeking an EC investigation into certain winning candidates who, according to this group, had never introduced themselves to or got to know other candidates before they showed up at the poll venue on Wednesday, and voted in a suspiciously similar pattern.
- Editorial: Lessons from the Senate election