The newly selected chairman of the Election Commission, Apichat Sukhaggananda, also said the EC is likely to postpone the date for the upcoming election by one month. The election had originally been scheduled for October 15.

Apichat said it was unlikely that any provincial officials would be removed before the vote.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and other groups campaigning against the government of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had urged the new EC to reorganise the whole agency before holding the next election.

The PAD said the new election would not be transparent if most of the local EC officials in the 400 constituencies remained unchanged. The previous chairman and commissioners had been accused of being "part of the Thaksin regime".

Apichat was yesterday unanimously voted EC chairman by his fellow commissioners. His appointment and those of the other commissioners require royal endorsement.

In comments to the press, he backed away from the election's originally scheduled date. "In my view, the election should be either November 19 or 26. However, we will discuss the new date again," he said.

Apichat said the new commission had identified four urgent missions. First, the EC would place more emphasis on getting people to observe the elections.

Second, the commission would prioritise action over public comments. Apichat said the EC would appoint a spokesman to give information to the media.

The third mission is teamwork. The five commissioners would have to help each other, said the chairman.

Finally, the EC would manage fair elections for the whole country.

Apichat said the commission might not recruit someone to fill the vacant post of EC secretary-general.

"The five [commissioners] will name a person who is suited for the position. He or she must outstanding both intellectually and in their actions," Apichat said.

He said the EC secretary-general need not be a judge and could perhaps even be one of the candidates who failed to win a spot on the commission.

Apichat said the five commissioners who did make it into the new EC were knowledgeable and willing to act. However, he admitted that speaking publicly is one of the new commission's weak points.

Apichat was formerly the chief justice of the Environment Division of the Supreme Court. He has a degree in law from Thammasat University.

He has been a judge for 33 years, and became chief judge of the Supreme Court in 2001.

In 2003, He was chief judge of the Court of Appeal Region IX, and the registrar until this year.

He also worked as chief judge of regions II and V.

In addition to serving as a judge, Apichat has also worked as a special lecturer at Prince of Songkhla University and Chiang Mai University.

Meanwhile, caretaker Senate Speaker Suchon Chaleekrua urged the new commissioners to resign from their current positions as judges and to bring him evidence that they had done so before September 24.

Bancha Khaengkhan

The Nation