TRT wants election of 3 senators to be nullified
The Thai Rak Thai Party yesterday called for the disqualification of three senators-elect from Bangkok on grounds they solicited votes at anti-Thaksin Shinawatra rallies in the months before the election.
The three senators-elect are Nitipoom Naowarat, Klanarong Chantik and Rosana Tositrakul. "The Election Commission should investigate and punish them for gaining unfair publicity by making appearances at rallies organised by the People's Alliance for Democracy [PAD]," party deputy spokesman Jatuporn Phromphan said. Under electoral law, senatorial candidates are banned from campaigning. Jatuporn said Nitipoom had violated the ban by announcing his candidacy in a live broadcast from the PAD's rally site at Sanam Luang. He said Nitipoom, Klanarong and Rosana had relied on the PAD to solicit votes. Stepping to the defence of the three winners, Thammasat University law lecturer Banjerd Singkhaneti called the ruling party's complaint unjustified and said the Election Commission (EC) should ignore it. "The appearances at the PAD's rallies were not about soliciting votes but to disseminate information on political ills to the public," he said. Outgoing Senator Kaewsan Atibhodi said the EC should not act hastily in distinguishing between normal public appearances and soliciting for votes.
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