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Published on November 17, 2007

The Election Commission, whose job it is to ensure a free and fair election, diminished its own credibility by organising an oath-taking ceremony at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha on Thursday, in which party leaders swore to conduct their election campaigns honestly and honourably. They also pledged not to engage in vote-buying and other electoral fraud as well as avoiding mudslinging. Invoking supernatural powers to bear witness to their promises, the party leaders asked the gods, or karmic force, for blessings if they managed to do what said they would do.

Conspicuously absent was the part that says calamity will befall those who fail to make good on their promises, which has always been part of such ritual oath-taking in this country. That's why some critics dismissed the EC-initiated event as less than sacred and an ineffective deterrent against would-be electoral fraudsters. The worst consequence that oath breakers would face is not reaping the benefits from the blessings.

That the EC had to resort to enlisting the help of supernatural powers to make sure the election will be free from cheating and dishonest practices is unsettling. The EC is empowered by the Constitution to demand full cooperation from the entire state apparatus to enforce electoral laws and to ensure that all parties compete honestly on a level playing field. It has full legal power to investigate those accused of dishonesty and violation of electoral laws, and to punish those found guilty. Why should the EC feel the need to seek the intervention of a "higher authority"?

Most of the more than 30 political parties registered to run in this election, including the People Power Party, declined the EC invitation to take part in the ceremony, and they could hardly be blamed for doing so. It is not the business of the EC to be organising such rituals. The EC should concentrate its efforts and energy on enforcement of electoral laws, monitoring of parties' electioneering, intercepting vote-buying and other dishonest and unlawful canvassing practices.

The importance of making the upcoming election a clean one is crucial. Whether democracy in this country will take root and prosper depends on whether society can break out of its political vicious circle. Since parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy was introduced more than 75 years ago, Thailand has repeated the same mistakes over and over again.

First we allow dishonest politicians to bankroll their way into parliament, take over power and become absolutely corrupt, which then gives the military the excuse to stage a coup, only to try to rebuild democracy again.

If the current members of the EC feel they are not quite up to what is required of them, they should simply resign in order to make way for more capable people. Organising the oath-taking ceremony made the EC look unprofessional and desperate, and it does not inspire public confidence. Any move by the EC to organise a grander oath-taking ceremony to be participated in by more political parties would be a mistake and should be avoided.

There is a better way for the EC to spend its time. The toughening of electoral laws and regulations will greatly increase the workload of the EC. Take for example, the legal provisions that, for the first time, allow penalties against any eligible voter who accepts cash or "in-kind" payment and any candidate or canvasser who gives it.

Anyone found guilty of taking a bribe is liable to a one- to five-year prison term and/or a fine of between Bt20,000 and Bt100,000, plus revocation of voting rights for five years. However, if bribe-takers notify (by December 30) the EC about vote-buying, they will be granted amnesty and will be rewarded with half the prescribed fine (between Bt20,000 and Bt200,000) slapped on the bribe payer. Convicted bribe payers are liable to between 1-10 years imprisonment and a fine of between Bt20,000 and Bt200,000, plus revocation of political rights for 10 years.

The EC should do its utmost to strengthen the enforcement, monitoring and investigation arms of its operation, and to serve as an effective deterrent as well as an authoritative arbiter of legal disputes among competing parties.

The Nation