Abhisit exposed the Election Commission’s involvement in the Senate vote-rigging case, warning that four commissioners face conflicts of interest and risk charges of bribery. He urged Parliament to cut the independent agencies’ budget by 10%.
On 10 September 2026, during a House of Representatives session to consider the 2027 annual budget bill, specifically Clause 32 concerning the budget for independent agencies, Abhisit Vejjajiva, a party-list MP and leader of the Democrat Party, proposed an amendment to reduce the budget for independent agencies by 10%. He cited a crisis of public trust and referenced a King Prajadhipok’s Institute survey showing that the Election Commission received the lowest public confidence among agencies.
Abhisit questioned the Election Commission’s efficiency and integrity in investigating the Senate member selection case, which involved allegations of vote-rigging and score trading. Despite a Supreme Court ruling setting a precedent, the Election Commission did not submit the case to the Supreme Court under Section 62. There were also concerns about conflicting actions with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), including refusal to accept DSI’s evidence on gang and money laundering cases and denial of sharing case files back with DSI.
He also revealed that four Election Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the case on 14 September. He warned that since these four commissioners were appointed from the accused Senate group, if they vote in favor of the related parties, it could constitute a conflict of interest, self-benefit, and implicate them in bribery charges.
Additionally, Abhisit proposed cutting the budget of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), citing delays such as his personal case where it took 15 years to receive notification of innocence. He suggested linking the NACC’s asset verification system with government agencies like the Bank of Thailand, Department of Land Transport, and Department of Lands to streamline procedures and save costs. He concluded by emphasizing that failure of independent agencies’ oversight systems would directly hinder the functioning of democracy, urging Parliament to send a warning signal through this budget cut.