The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday dismissed speculation it had already decided to charge only 10 people in the Senate election collusion case.
EC member Narong Rakroi said the commission completed its review of the case file on Aug 28 and insisted there had been no prior discussion about how many people should face charges.
The full commission is scheduled to vote on Sept 14. Mr Narong said the delay was necessary because some issues required further clarification and additional information. He said the vote would not be postponed and each commissioner was free to assess the evidence independently. Any decision, he added, must be supported by evidence.
The planned vote comes as opposition parties and civil society groups step up pressure on the EC to decide whether to forward the case to the Supreme Court. A total of 229 people have been accused of involvement in the alleged manipulation of the 2024 Senate election.
Asked about case documents leaked to iLaw and the opposition, Mr Narong said the EC was considering legal action and was expected to decide how to proceed on Monday. Regarding phone records said to implicate the EC, he said the commission was prepared to consider them if they were included in the case file.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Sunday the Senate election collusion case falls entirely under the EC’s jurisdiction, after the opposition urged the agency to file charges against all 229 people allegedly involved.
Asked about the possibility of the opposition and iLaw releasing the names of cabinet ministers who may be linked to the alleged collusion before the EC’s vote, Mr Anutin challenged the use of the word “may”.
“Either they were involved, or they were not,” he said.
He stressed that the issue concerned the EC’s legal authority rather than its discretion, saying that if the rules were followed, there would be no need to speculate about who was guilty.