ASEAN Beat | Politics | Southeast Asia

New Thai Parliament Convenes Amid Continuing Legal Scrutiny of February 8 Election

The Constitutional Court is set to rule on whether the use of barcodes and QR codes on ballot papers violated constitutional provisions on voter confidentiality.

The Thai Parliament complex on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand.

Thailand’s parliament convened for the first time over the weekend and elected new leadership, clearing the last remaining obstacle to the formation of a new government later this week.

King Vajiralongkorn formally opened the legislature on Saturday, urging ​lawmakers to perform ​their duty to “uphold ⁠what is right and have the well-being of the people as their highest goal,” Reuters reported.

The following day, the new parliament selected Sophon Zaram, a former minister of transport and senior member of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party, as speaker of the 500-member House of Representatives. Sophon received 289 votes of the 497 lawmakers present, compared with the 123 for the opposition People’s Party candidate. Meanwhile, Bhumjaithai’s Mallika Jirapunvanit and Lertsak Pattanachaikul of the Pheu Thai Party were elected first and second deputy speakers of the House, respectively.

Addressing parliament, Sophon, 66, vowed to act impartially “for the nation, religion, the monarchy and the people.”

Sophon’s first duty will be to schedule a parliamentary vote to choose a prime minister, who will then form a new government. This is all but certain to be Anutin, who was appointed prime minister last September and led Bhumjaithai to a decisive victory in the election on February 8, claiming 192 seats in the House, followed by the progressive People’s Party on 120, Pheu Thai on 74, and the Kla Tham Party on 58.

Anutin requires the support of more than half of the House in order to be confirmed as prime minister. Bhumjaithai has announced plans to form a coalition with Pheu Thai and a smattering of smaller parties, ​an alliance ​that would ⁠hold an estimated 292 seats.

According to local media reports, the vote is set to take place on March 19, after the proposed new Cabinet lineup is finalized and submitted to King Vajiralongkorn for royal endorsement.

However, questions about the conduct of the February 8 poll continue to hover. While the Election Commission has dismissed complaints about alleged vote-buying, uncounted ballots, and other irregularities, and certified the results of all but one of the 500 seats in the House, there are a number of unresolved legal complaints about the use of barcodes and QR codes on ballots, which some critics claim compromised the constitutional requirement for secret voting.

The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday requested the Constitutional Court to rule on whether the use of barcodes and QR codes on ballot papers violated the constitutional requirement “that voting be conducted directly and by secret ballot,” the Bangkok Post reported.

The Ombudsman said that the office had received 21 public complaints about the issue, and that there were sufficient grounds to question whether the Election Commission and its leadership had acted in a way that contravened the charter. If the Constitutional Court rules that the secrecy of the vote was compromised, it has the power to annul the result of the election and call a new one. Were this to happen, the Bangkok Post estimated that it would cost the Thai state upwards of 7 billion baht ($216 million).

The Office of the Ombudsman said it is also examining a host of other complaints related to the conduct of the February 8 polls, while the Election Commission and its chairman face several other legal challenges related to the barcode issue.

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Thailand’s parliament convened for the first time over the weekend and elected new leadership, clearing the last remaining obstacle to the formation of a new government later this week.

King Vajiralongkorn formally opened the legislature on Saturday, urging ​lawmakers to perform ​their duty to “uphold ⁠what is right and have the well-being of the people as their highest goal,” Reuters reported.

The following day, the new parliament selected Sophon Zaram, a former minister of transport and senior member of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party, as speaker of the 500-member House of Representatives. Sophon received 289 votes of the 497 lawmakers present, compared with the 123 for the opposition People’s Party candidate. Meanwhile, Bhumjaithai’s Mallika Jirapunvanit and Lertsak Pattanachaikul of the Pheu Thai Party were elected first and second deputy speakers of the House, respectively.

Addressing parliament, Sophon, 66, vowed to act impartially “for the nation, religion, the monarchy and the people.”

Sophon’s first duty will be to schedule a parliamentary vote to choose a prime minister, who will then form a new government. This is all but certain to be Anutin, who was appointed prime minister last September and led Bhumjaithai to a decisive victory in the election on February 8, claiming 192 seats in the House, followed by the progressive People’s Party on 120, Pheu Thai on 74, and the Kla Tham Party on 58.

Anutin requires the support of more than half of the House in order to be confirmed as prime minister. Bhumjaithai has announced plans to form a coalition with Pheu Thai and a smattering of smaller parties, ​an alliance ​that would ⁠hold an estimated 292 seats.

According to local media reports, the vote is set to take place on March 19, after the proposed new Cabinet lineup is finalized and submitted to King Vajiralongkorn for royal endorsement.

However, questions about the conduct of the February 8 poll continue to hover. While the Election Commission has dismissed complaints about alleged vote-buying, uncounted ballots, and other irregularities, and certified the results of all but one of the 500 seats in the House, there are a number of unresolved legal complaints about the use of barcodes and QR codes on ballots, which some critics claim compromised the constitutional requirement for secret voting.

The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday requested the Constitutional Court to rule on whether the use of barcodes and QR codes on ballot papers violated the constitutional requirement “that voting be conducted directly and by secret ballot,” the Bangkok Post reported.

The Ombudsman said that the office had received 21 public complaints about the issue, and that there were sufficient grounds to question whether the Election Commission and its leadership had acted in a way that contravened the charter. If the Constitutional Court rules that the secrecy of the vote was compromised, it has the power to annul the result of the election and call a new one. Were this to happen, the Bangkok Post estimated that it would cost the Thai state upwards of 7 billion baht ($216 million).

The Office of the Ombudsman said it is also examining a host of other complaints related to the conduct of the February 8 polls, while the Election Commission and its chairman face several other legal challenges related to the barcode issue.

Sebastian Strangio is Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat. 

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