"The election commissioners should not simply perform their roles without exercising their conscience,'' he said.

Nirand Kultanant, an academic at Buri Ram Rajabhat University, agreed that the commissioners should listen to their consciences after inappropriately organising an election with no independent agencies to check whether it was clean and fair.

"There have been attempts to prevent scrutiny, causing the election to be distorted. They should be sensitive about this and not wait for someone to pressure them to resign. The only agency that can impeach them is the Senate, but it has done nothing,'' he said.

 Assoc Prof Somkiat Tangnamo, rector of The Midnight University, said most academics believed the April 2 election was unfair, and that the EC must take responsibility. "There have been calls for them to quit but they have not responded,'' he said.

Charoon Yoothong, an academic from the Institute for Southern Thai Studies, said the commissioners should show their democratic spirit by resigning because they failed to organise the election according to democratic principles.

"The most serious [problem] is that they are under the influence of the Thaksin government,'' he said.

Assist Prof Thawee Surarithikul, a lecturer at Sukhothai Open University's Political Science Faculty, said the EC must take responsibility for organising the election in haste and causing confusion and turmoil.

"Part of the King's speech to the Administrative Court said that if you cannot do it, then quit. I believe that the EC is another agency that failed - so it must take responsibility,'' he said.

The Nation