Mr. Prissana Adthangkarin, a member of parliament for the People’s Party, has voiced concerns regarding the 860,000 baht received by the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT), stating that the origin and purpose of the funds remain unclear. He suspects the individual who transferred the money is under investigation and has questioned whether the ECT has definitively confirmed that these funds are unrelated to the selection of senators.
These statements stem from an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud in the fourth phase of the senator selection process, which has reportedly involved money transfers and established relationships. Mr. Prissana, a list MP from the People’s Party, has been examining financial trails associated with fraudulent practices in the senator selection process across four provinces. One such trail identified money transferred from Ms. Y, a member of the Amnat Charoen Pride group, to Mr. S, an investigator and prosecutor within the ECT’s investigation and adjudication division. The total amount of 860,000 baht was transferred in 13 separate transactions between April and July 2024, coinciding with the period of senator selections.
The ECT has acknowledged that an official received 860,000 baht while on duty as an ECT employee. The commission stated that this official was tasked with investigating and prosecuting cases related to the selection of Members of Parliament (MPs) between April 7 and July 22, 2024, clarifying that this assignment was connected to MP elections, not senator selections. The ECT also confirmed that the official was initially dismissed and removed from their position for other reasons.
Responding to the ECT’s statement on August 12, Mr. Prissana, a list MP from the People’s Party, raised further questions due to what he perceived as a lack of detailed explanation. He noted that the ECT’s admission confirms the legitimacy of the financial trail from a politician in Amnat Charoen province to an ECT investigator, totaling 860,000 baht between April and July 2024.
While the ECT asserted that the investigator was assigned to “MP election” cases during the period of the money transfers, Mr. Prissana believes this does not definitively prove the funds are unconnected to the senator selection process. He pointed out that the senator selection process occurred concurrently (May-June 2024) and highlighted the ECT’s critical role in ensuring the integrity and fairness of these selections, as well as in preventing and investigating allegations of fraud.
To uphold the “transparency” emphasized by the ECT, Mr. Prissana has posed seven additional questions to the commission: the purpose of the 860,000 baht transfer; whether the ECT has thoroughly investigated and confirmed its unrelatedness to senator selection; the specific MP election case the investigator was handling and the candidates involved; the reason for the delay in the investigation, which has reportedly been ongoing for over two years; the “other reasons” for the investigator’s dismissal and the date of this action; whether the individual who transferred the money has been investigated for any wrongdoing; and when the full investigation results will be disclosed to the public.
In addition to awaiting the ECT’s responses, Mr. Prissana urged the public to consider whether the new evidence he presented on Sunday, concerning money orders in four provinces (Phrae, Lamphun, Songkhla, and Amnat Charoen), is sufficient to warrant a belief in fraud. He questioned how the 36th adjudication committee of the ECT could have found none of the 229 accused individuals guilty, despite having access to all available evidence, and emphasized the ECT’s obligation to prosecute such cases in court for further investigation and judgment.