A group of senators calling themselves New Breed senators have questioned the Election Commission (EC) over complaints against them after finding their names in separate investigation files.
They said they had never been notified of any charges or asked to give statements before the EC unanimously dismissed the complaints.
Senator Nantana Nantavaropas said on Monday she was surprised to learn that members of the group had been named in investigation files concerning allegations linked to the 2024 Senate election.
She said she had assigned Senator Tewarit Maneechai, representing the group, to send the EC a letter seeking clarification on the cases and the standards used to handle them.
“If we were accused, there should have been documents notifying us and an invitation to give statements. But no such details ever appeared,” Sen Nantana said.
She questioned why the EC had disclosed only the relevant legal provisions without explaining what the alleged conduct was, where it occurred or how it amounted to an offence.
Sen Nantana said the group should not be treated as part of the larger group of 229 people previously implicated in allegations about the Senate election, arguing that its members had never been notified of such claims.
She also asked whether the investigation concerned a meeting at the Jupiter Room at Impact Muang Thong Thani on June 26, 2024, the day before the national-level Senate selection.
EC officials and reporters were present to observe the event, she said.
According to an EC source, the commission is also investigating three other cases involving alleged links between provincial-level senators and the People’s Party, the Progressive Movement and iLaw; national-level senators allegedly linked to the same groups; and a group of independent senators.
One issue under investigation is a June 26, 2024 meeting at the Jupiter Room at Impact Muang Thong Thani, attended by about 300 people a day before the national Senate vote.
Sen Nantana said she had never attended meetings with other Senate candidates except the Jupiter Room gathering and rejected suggestions that it involved a banquet. She said there was not even water at the meeting.
She accused the EC of appearing to have a predetermined direction in its investigations and called on it to remain impartial and base its decisions on evidence.