Commissioner Sumet Oupanisakorn said yesterday he backed Apichat and would propose him at the commissioners' meeting tomorrow.

Sumet said Apichat was the most senior of the five newly elected commissioners and therefore should be their leader.

"I have asked Apichat to take the chairmanship, and he accepted my invitation," Sumet said.

It was a tradition in the judiciary for the senior most judge in a department to assume its leadership, he said.

On Friday, the Senate elected five new commissioners to fill vacant EC seats.

The three others are Somchai Jungprasert, Sodsri Satayathum and Prapan Naikowit.

The new members will hold their first meeting tomorrow and are expected to elect a chairperson and review their responsibilities.

Prapan backed Sumet but said, "The members will discuss on Thursday [tomorrow] who the chairperson will be."

The EC chairperson wields considerable power. He or she has the final say if an election candidate is disqualified and can recommend dissolution of a party to the Constitution Court.

Former EC chairman Vasana Puemlarp was accused of siding with the Thai Rak Thai government before he and two other commissioners were convicted of mismanaging the April 2 election and jailed.