We won't be rushed: Constitution judges
Election Commission chairman Vasana Puemlarp arrives at the Constitution Court yesterday to testify in a case about the legality of the April 2 snap election. He used a back door to enter the compound.
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Constitution Court acting president Phan Chantarapan yesterday reiterated the court was open-minded about whether the April 2 election should be invalidated.
"Judges will review every aspect of the electoral process with no fixed deadline to come to a decision and without worrying about outside pressure," he said. The 14 presiding judges began their first day of deliberation on the petition submitted by Thammasat University law lecturers questioning the election outcome. Four legal issues were raised by the petition: the legality of the Royal Decree calling for the polls; voter privacy while marking the ballots; the funding of small parties; and the endorsement of voting results without a formal review. The judges will sit until they reach a verdict and yesterday morning they outlined the pertinent legal issues for the judicial review. In the afternoon they heard testimony from Election Commission (EC) chairman Vasana Puemlarp. Vasana, accompanied by colleague Prinya Nakchudtree, submitted evidence on the management of the electoral process. The EC chief refused to talk to reporters before entering the court, which is closed to the public. The pair presented some 90 pages of documents and answered questions from Constitution Court judges, said the court's secretary-general Paiboon Warahapaitoon. The meeting lasted almost two hours. A source from the court said yesterday it was likely the judges would decide on the case early next week. In a related development, students from Ramkhamhaeng University demanded the EC's resignation on grounds they mismanaged the polls. "The four EC members should resign because they failed to ensure honest and fair balloting," said student representative Uthai Yodmanee, adding that the students expected a response by Wednesday. He claimed the EC organised the April 2 election in an unfair fashion and caused a rift in society. Meanwhile, activist Taikorn Pholsuwan called on the EC to unmask the masterminds who hired minor parties to run against Thai Rak Thai candidates.
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