Reserve senators have petitioned the Central and Supreme Administrative Courts to order the Election Commission (EC) to suspend consideration of the dormant vote-rigging case involving senators, claiming that the establishment of the 36th adjudication subcommittee was unlawful.
At 1:00 p.m. on 16 March 2026, at the Election Commission office, a group of reserve senators led by Mr. Akarawat Pongthanachalitkul held a press conference after submitting a petition to the Central and Supreme Administrative Courts. They requested an order prohibiting the Election Commission (EC) from using the investigation results from the 36th adjudication subcommittee, which voted 5 to 2 to dismiss the complaint due to lack of evidence that the accused—138 senators, 91 political party executives, and their networks, totaling 229 people—committed vote-rigging. The petition argues that the establishment of the 36th subcommittee by former EC chairman Mr. Itthiporn Boonprakong was unlawful and exceeded the legal timeframe, as the EC is required to examine electoral fraud complaints within one year.
Mr. Akarawat stated that the investigation by the 26th investigative committee involved fieldwork to gather strong evidence in the vote-rigging case, supporting prosecution of all 229 involved. However, the 36th adjudication subcommittee somehow obtained contradictory evidence and voted 5 to 2 to dismiss the findings of the 26th committee as baseless. Therefore, he believes the EC should not consider the 36th subcommittee’s investigation and has filed urgent petitions with the Central and Supreme Administrative Courts to seek emergency interim protection orders promptly.
