Reformists Sue to Revoke Social Security Vote Delay

A social security reform group has petitioned the Central Administrative Court to revoke the postponement of the Social Security Board election, arguing that election officials misinterpreted an earlier court order and delayed the entire process without sufficient legal grounds. The Progressive Social Security Team, led by Assoc Prof Sustarum Thammaboosadee, a former employee representative on the Social Security Board, filed the petition on Wednesday. The group, whose 14 candidates are contesting seats representing insured workers and employers, also urged Labour Minister Julapun Amornvivat to proceed with the election as scheduled on Sept 27. The Central Administrative Court recently ordered the temporary suspension of the election committee's announcement, stating that the requirement for eligible employers and insured workers to register with the Social Security Office (SSO) before voting may not be lawful. Voter registration opened on June 1 and closed on July 15, while polling remains scheduled for Sept 27. Mr Sustarum argued that the court's order applied only to the advance voter registration requirement and did not necessitate the suspension of the entire election process. He stated that the election committee, chaired by the labour permanent secretary, had exceeded the scope of the ruling by announcing an indefinite postponement. He highlighted that the country's largest public fund has been operating without a fully mandated board for over five months and 22 days. The group is asking the court to revoke the postponement announcement and order the election committee to proceed with voting on Sept 27. Separately, the group proposed five measures to allow the election to go ahead. These included publishing the voter list, retaining polling stations already selected by registered voters, and allowing eligible voters who had not yet chosen a polling station to do so online within a limited period. The other two proposals were assigning remaining voters to their local SSO offices and holding the election on the original date. Mr Sustarum rejected claims by the Labour Ministry and the SSO that budget constraints made a full election impossible. He said the allocated budget of 275 million baht was sufficient and that more than 70% of the election process had already been completed, with the remaining step being the casting of ballots.