Bangkok Post – Suspension of Pathum Thani election winner confirmed

Government legal advisers demand clarification of procurement corruption case from 2012

The State Council, the government’s legal advisory body, has confirmed that Charn Phuangphet, the winner of Sunday’s election to become chairman of the Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) in Pathum Thani, will be suspended pending the outcome of an earlier case of abuse of office.

Mr Charn, of the Pheu Thai Party, was investigated for irregularities in the procurement of relief supplies during the major floods in 2011. He previously chaired the PAO in Pathum Thani.

However, the Pheu Thai Party argues that a new court order is needed to suspend Mr Charn and complains that some of the Council’s legal advice is inconsistent with the court’s final decision.

In 2012, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) found reason to believe that Mr Charn had committed official misconduct in connection with the procurement of aid supplies.

The NACC referred the case to the Region 1 Corruption and Misconduct Criminal Court, which suspended Mr Charn from work later that year. The case is still ongoing, with another hearing scheduled for later this month.

A new court order to suspend Mr Charn was not necessary because the power to suspend him from work now rests with the Ministry of Local Government, said Pakorn Nilprapunt, secretary-general of the State Council.

The head of the Pathum Thani provincial office will be allowed to continue serving as acting chairman of the PAO until a solution is found, he said.

The main reason the court suspended Mr Charn from work in 2012 was to prevent him from interfering in criminal proceedings, Mr Pakorn said.

“If Mr Charn now returns as chairman of Pathum Thani PAO, he may be able to intervene in the legal proceedings in this case,” he added.

Sorawong Thienthong, secretary-general of the Pheu Thai Party, argued that a new court order was needed because Mr Charn was no longer serving as chairman of the PAO at the time of his suspension by the court in 2012.

If Mr Charn is suspended this time by the Department of Local Administration, a sub-department of the Ministry of Interior, he could appeal against such an order to the Administrative Court, Mr Sorawong added.

He stressed that Pheu Thai’s legal team had carefully examined Mr Charn’s eligibility before the party fielded him in the Pathum Thani election, which was seen as a crucial test of the party’s popularity and the influence of de facto leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said that the State Council’s legal advice was sometimes inconsistent with court rulings, suggesting that one must wait for a new court ruling to be made.

The office of the Election Commission (EC) in Pathum Thani stressed on Tuesday that it had checked Mr Charn’s eligibility before the vote on Sunday and subsequently confirmed his eligibility.

However, the final decision on whether Sunday’s election result will be confirmed now lies with the headquarters of the European Commission.

In another development, political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana said he had sent a petition to the Home Ministry asking it to consider suspending Mr Charn from work.