The upper house voted to appoint "Jirut" as the sole new Election Commissioner, while "Monthon" failed, receiving only 9 votes. Their career paths were revealed to be extensive.
On 26 Feb 2026 GMT+7, during the first extraordinary session of the Senate, a key agenda was to approve nominees for the Election Commission (EC). The vote resulted in overwhelming approval for Mr. Jirut Wisalchit, who secured 144 votes, while Mr. Monthon Sudprasert was not approved, receiving only 9 votes.
Mr. Jirut Wisalchit is regarded as an important career official of the Ministry of Transport. He advanced through the Department of Land Transport to become its Director-General and then Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport. He also has experience managing state enterprises as Chairman of the State Railway of Thailand board. His nomination was based on at least five years as a Director-General or equivalent, with strengths in managing large organizations and expertise in government regulations aligned with the EC's structure.
Mr. Jirut is seen as a genuine representative of the "Blue faction," with strong ties to the Bhumjaithai Party, especially as a key "right-hand man" to Mr. Saksayam Chidchob during his tenure as Director-General of the Department of Land Transport. Analysts say this victory reflects the unified support from the pro-Bhumjaithai group of senators, who voted in unison for a trusted professional administrator.
Mr. Monthon Sudprasert, a former senior official from the Ministry of Interior who served as Director-General of the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning for seven years and Director-General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, despite his broad experience working with local administration nationwide, did not gain trust from Senate members. He faced 102 votes against and 57 abstentions, resulting in fewer than half of the total Senate membership approving him (less than 100 votes), thus he was not selected.
Although Mr. Monthon is a prominent official from the "Singh Ministry of Interior faction" with strong influence and wide connections in the real estate business due to his long tenure as Director-General of the Department of Public Works, he was strongly rejected. Analysts interpret this as a clear sign he did not receive a green light from the Senate majority in this term, meaning the Ministry of Interior faction's connections could not overcome the current dominant political power bloc's resistance.