The Election Commission (EC) brushed aside criticism that it was dragging its feet in announcing the certified result of the election for 200 new senators after an almost two-week lapse since the June 26 vote.
Speaking after the EC's meeting on Monday, EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said the result could not be announced because several issues must be addressed first.
He declined to say if the poll agency, which is also scheduled to meet on Tuesday, would announce the result while insisting that it was not stalling no matter what critics said.
A source at the EC said if the result was not announced on Tuesday, it would likely be deferred for another week when Mr Ittiporn returns from planned leave.
The EC is under pressure from the Senate election winners and losers. One has already demanded the agency endorse the result to prevent the existing Senate from remaining in its position, while another called for it to investigate alleged fraud and questionable eligibility rulings.
Several former candidates on Monday threatened to file a malfeasance complaint against the EC if it rushed to announce the result before their complaints about irregularities are heard.
One also filed a petition with the Administrative Court to suspend the announcement of the result and ask the outgoing Senate to impeach the poll commissioners for violating the charter.
The organic law on the Senate composition does not stipulate an exact timeframe for the EC to announce a result. The law only requires that the EC leaves five days after the final round of the election to resolve complaints.
Meanwhile, the outgoing Senate on Monday voted 101:10 with 17 abstentions to set up a 23-member special panel to investigate the Senate poll. The panel has 30 days to complete its work.
Outgoing Senator Somchai Swangkarn defended the move, saying the senators felt duty-bound to oversee the process until their last day in office and ensure a clean handover to the next higher chamber.