Bhumjaithai Party Accuses iLaw of Double Standards in Senate Poll Probe

The Bhumjaithai Party has accused iLaw of applying double standards in its scrutiny of the 2024 Senate election, alleging the watchdog unfairly labels their candidate organization as "collusion" while overlooking similar activities by the Progressive Movement. Supachai Jaisamut, the party’s legal affairs chairman, argued that the complex Senate election regulations often lead candidates to form groups. He pointed out that iLaw and the Progressive Movement, affiliated with the opposition Move Forward Party, openly campaigned under the "Senate 67" banner and encouraged people to stand as candidates. He questioned why such activities are deemed acceptable for one group but labeled "collusion" when another group engages in them. iLaw has recently released evidence suggesting coordinated efforts on a national scale to ensure the election of senatorial candidates linked to the Bhumjaithai Party. The transparency watchdog also named Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the Bhumjaithai leader, and other senior party figures as being aware of or involved in the alleged plot. However, Mr. Supachai claimed to possess evidence that a network calling itself the “People’s Senate” or “Orange Senate” privately coordinated voting strategies through chat groups, with some candidates assigned specific roles as "voters" tasked solely with supporting preferred candidates. Furthermore, Bhumjaithai list-MP Supachai dismissed claims by Senator Nantana Nantavaropas that approximately 300 candidates gathered at Jupiter Hall in Impact Muang Thong Thani had shared venue costs. He stated he had receipts showing the venue was booked and paid for by a representative of Fa Diew Kan Publishing (Same Sky), and that this could be independently verified. This gathering had prompted political activist Srisuwan Janya to petition the Election Commission (EC) for an investigation into whether any activities undermined the fairness of the Senate election. Mr. Srisuwan had questioned why similar conduct was described as "organization" or "teamwork" in one instance but labeled "collusion" in another. The EC is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to forward a collusion case to the courts, following investigations that began nearly two years ago. In May, an EC subcommittee voted 5-2 to clear all 229 individuals named in the case file—138 sitting senators and 91 Bhumjaithai Party executives, members, and associates—overturning a previous panel's recommendation to send the case to the Supreme Court. In a related development, Senators Somphan Phalasak and Daeng Kongma from Amnat Charoen filed a defamation complaint against iLaw director Yingcheep Atchanont, accusing him of falsely claiming they lacked the qualifications to contest Group 10 in the Senate election. Both insisted they had been cleared by the EC nearly two years ago after complaints questioning their eligibility were investigated.