Senator Phisit cited a court ruling stating that bringing cheat sheets into the voting booth is not illegal. He defended Mongkol, referring to a clip showing him submitting a cheat sheet to the Election Commission (EC), but said it is unprovable what document was actually submitted. He exposed that minority senators also possess cheat sheets and urged the EC to conduct an equal investigation.
At 10:00 AM on 16 June 2026 at the parliament, Senator Phisit Apiwatwong held a press conference to rebut MP Parit Watcharasinthu, a party-list MP and deputy leader of the Prachachon Party, regarding a clip Parit released showing cheat sheets used in the Senate election. Phisit questioned whether Parit was aware that the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct had ruled that bringing any documents such as Senate Form 3 into the voting day was not illegal. He asked how Parit obtained the clip, whether it was legally acquired, and if it came from court or EC records, who authorized its release and under what authority.
Phisit asked if the clip Parit referred to actually contained any statements indicating election fraud. He accused Parit of trying to provoke a "Orange" style political scenario to create viral content focused on likes and shares rather than truth, misleading the public. He said no legal action could proceed because the clip was obtained unlawfully. He questioned whether the EC authorized the clip’s release.
When asked about the recent clip showing Senate President Mongkol Surasajja submitting documents to the EC, raising suspicions of Mongkol's involvement, Phisit said frankly he did not know what documents were involved and suggested Parit ask Mongkol directly. He said if any wrongdoing occurred, the EC should have acted on the election day two years ago instead of doing nothing since then. Asked if the EC might be protecting someone, Phisit said he could not answer as he had no authority to interfere. Regarding calls for Mongkol to resign, he said that was up to Mongkol but if proven guilty, the EC would likely refuse to certify the election results. On whether this would damage Senate credibility, Phisit said belief in senators could not be forced; the 200 senators were properly elected under the constitutional act. He viewed this as political discrediting and said he did not know Parit’s involvement since Parit was not a Senate candidate.
Police Major General Sunthorn Kwanphet, a senator, said the issue of cheat sheets was not limited to one group. Another group of Senate candidates also had cheat sheets. He reported that a group of candidates met at a hotel in Muang Thong Thani and openly declared their intent to join the Senate. Some in the photos were elected as senators, about 10-20 people. Among the failed Senate candidates in group 18 was a journalist ranked fourth on the cheat sheet, who explained that the selection process was agreed upon but they failed due to certain obstacles. The full clips are searchable using the keywords “Democratic faction Senate election.” As a former investigator, he collected evidence showing that possessing cheat sheets is not illegal; the law does not prohibit it. Minority senators also had cheat sheets on election day but were not scrutinized. He urged the EC to investigate every time this issue arises, as only the group of 138 senators is examined, not the other side, despite clear evidence. He offered to provide all clips as evidence to ensure fairness for both Senate factions.