10-7-2023 (BANGKOK) The Election Commission (EC) has not yet decided whether to send the case of prime ministerial candidate Pita Limcharoenrat’s iTV shareholding to the Constitution Court, according to EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong. After Monday’s meeting, Boonpracong stated that the commission only reviewed the progress of its fact-finding committee investigating the case.
Earlier, the EC had received complaints about Pita’s eligibility for political office due to his past shareholding in iTV. The commission was asked to forward the case to the Constitution Court, which could rule on Pita’s eligibility for political office. If the Court accepts the case, it can suspend Pita from political roles pending its ruling.
According to the constitution, a shareholder of a media organisation cannot run in a general election. Anyone who runs while knowing they are unqualified is liable to imprisonment, fines, and a political ban. Pita claimed that he had 42,000 shares in iTV only as the executor of his late father’s estate.
Pita is the leader and prime ministerial candidate of the election-winning Move Forward Party (MFP). MFP and its seven coalition allies agreed to nominate him as prime minister for the House and the Senate to vote upon on Thursday.
The eight coalition allies had 312 votes in the House and needed at least 64 votes in favour from senators to secure Pita’s premiership. The constitution allows 250 senators to join 500 House representatives in voting for a prime ministerial candidate. A prime minister requires the support of the majority of the two houses or at least 376 votes from their joint sitting.
On Monday, Pita wrote to the EC to request a hearing to present his defence on the iTV shareholding controversy. In a TV interview, he refused to divulge the number of senators who would vote for him, stating that negotiations with senators were progressing well.
As some senators disagreed with MFP’s policy to amend the lese majeste law, Pita said the party only intended to prevent any abuse of the law. Some senators also said they could abstain from the vote due to the questioned qualification of Pita in running in the general election.
Pita declined to comment on what he would do if he fails to gather enough votes for his premiership from the House and the Senate. On Sunday, he expressed his hope that both houses would vote in line with the people’s choice in the May 14 general election.
