Bhumjaithai Figures Avoid Action as EC Proceeds Against 77

All 21 Bhumjaithai politicians accused in the 2024 Senate collusion case, including Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, have avoided court and criminal proceedings, while the Election Commission has decided to take action against 77 other people.

The 77 comprise 26 serving senators, 36 candidates eligible to vote in the Senate selection and 15 other individuals. No reserve-listed candidates, party executives, MPs or political officeholders were included. The inquiry involved 67 complainants, 427 respondents and 75,722 pages of evidence.

EC chairman Narong Klunwarin said the decision was not a finding of guilt and that those facing proceedings could contest the allegations before the Supreme Court. He declined to disclose how individual election commissioners voted.

No one will face proceedings under Section 76 of the Senate selection law. The provision covers political party figures assisting Senate candidates and candidates accepting such assistance.

A key witness in the allegations against Bhumjaithai was Ekkarat Changlao, a former party MP who was expelled from the party. Identified as Witness No. 16, Ekkarat initially alleged that Bhumjaithai MPs and executives held meetings at the party’s headquarters between June 16 and 26, 2024, after the provincial-level selection.

He also alleged that Anutin, other Bhumjaithai MPs and co-founder Newin Chidchob attended a meeting with senators at the Pullman Bangkok King Power hotel on July 21, 2024. Ekkarat later withdrew his testimony in full, leading EC Adjudication Subcommittee No. 36 to deem him unreliable and discount his evidence.

Panel 36 subsequently voted 5–2 to recommend dismissing the case against 229 accused. Its recommendation contradicted that of the EC-DSI Central Investigation and Inquiry Committee No. 26, which found grounds for action against 138 senators, 50 reserve or unsuccessful candidates, 21 Bhumjaithai politicians and 20 other alleged participants. Former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn questioned why documents concerning Ekkarat’s retraction emerged three days before the EC’s final vote.

Under the third allegation, 36 people—including 26 serving senators, one other candidate and nine other individuals—will face proceedings for promoting candidates in ways that breached EC rules. Allegations four to seven involve vote buying, inducements and accepting benefits. The 36 accused under the third allegation are included in the overall total of 77.

The EC must prepare its rulings and submit petitions to the Supreme Court’s Election Cases Division within 60 days. The 26 senators can continue working until the court accepts the petitions, after which they must stop performing their duties pending judgment. If the court rules against them, their memberships will end from the date of their suspension.

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包括总理阿努廷·查恩维拉库尔在内的所有 21 名被指控参与 2024 年参议院勾结案的泰自豪党政治人物都避免了法庭和刑事诉讼，而选举委员会已决定对其他 77 人采取行动。

这77人包括26名现任参议员、36名有资格参与参议院选举投票的候选人以及15名其他人士。不包括候补候选人、政党高层、国会议员或政治官员。此次调查涉及67名投诉人、427名被投诉人以及75,722页证据。

选举委员会主席纳隆·克伦瓦林表示，该决定并非认定有罪，面临诉讼的人可以向最高法院提出上诉。他拒绝透露每位选举委员的投票情况。

任何人均不会因违反参议院选举法第76条而受到诉讼。该条款涵盖协助参议院候选人的政党人士以及接受此类协助的候选人。

针对泰自豪党的指控中，关键证人是埃卡拉特·昌劳，他曾是该党议员，后被开除出党。埃卡拉特被列为16号证人，他最初指控泰自豪党议员和高层在2024年6月16日至26日期间，即省级选举之后，在该党总部举行了会议。

他还声称，阿努廷、其他泰自豪党议员和联合创始人纽因·奇乔布于 2024 年 7 月 21 日在曼谷铂尔曼皇权酒店与参议员们举行了一次会议。埃卡拉特后来完全撤回了他的证词，导致选举委员会第 36 号裁决小组委员会认为他不可靠，并驳回了他的证据。

第36号小组随后以5比2的投票结果建议驳回对229名被告的指控。该小组的建议与选举委员会-特别刑事司中央调查委员会第26号的建议相矛盾，后者认定有理由对138名参议员、50名候补或落选候选人、21名泰自豪党政治人士以及20名其他涉嫌参与者采取行动。前选举委员颂猜·斯里苏提亚空质疑，为何有关埃卡拉撤回声明的文件会在选举委员会最终投票前三天出现。

第三项指控涉及36人，其中包括26名现任参议员、一名候选人和另外9人，他们将因违反选举委员会规则以各种方式支持候选人而面临诉讼。第四至第七项指控涉及买票、贿赂和接受利益。第三项指控下的36名被告包含在总共77名被告之中。

选举委员会必须在60天内准备好裁决书并提交最高法院选举案件庭。这26名参议员可以继续工作，直到法院受理他们的请愿书；之后，他们必须停止履行职责，等待判决。如果法院判决他们败诉，他们的参议员资格将从停职之日起终止。

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