Suksomruay Wontaneeyakul refutes opposition party's claims of senator election collusion, emphasizing the clip cited is from a 'pha khao ma' event two years ago unrelated to the senatorial elections. She notes the Election Commission has completed its review and criticizes the use of old information to mislead. She added, if collusion were true, her sister-in-law would have succeeded by now. She expressed disappointment that the younger generation uses such methods.
On 27 Jul 2026 GMT+7, Suksomruay Wontaneeyakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office and MP for Amnat Charoen from Bhumjaithai Party, responded to Prit Watjrasinthu, List MP from the People's Party, who demanded nine Bhumjaithai politicians clarify the senator election collusion issue. She said the opposition's reference on 26 Jul at a panel discussion in parliament and the clip shown yesterday were from an event held in Amnat Charoen two years ago promoting the wearing of pha khao ma, as the province is known as the capital of this fabric. The event was live-streamed throughout, and the opposition had filed complaints to the Election Commission. She denied hosting any gathering related to the senator election and said the Election Commission never summoned her as the live footage contained no mention of senators. Two years ago, the opposition had also filed an ethics complaint in parliament, which led her to file a defamation suit. The complainant later admitted guilt, and the court ordered a suspended sentence.
She urged the opposition to verify information thoroughly before releasing it to the media and not to use old data to damage others' reputations.
Suksomruay added that Supansa Wontaneeyakul, widely known in Amnat Charoen as her sister-in-law, ran as a female senator candidate but was eliminated at the provincial level and did not advance nationally. This is common knowledge in the province. She said it is inappropriate to raise this issue to invite insults and cause damage. If collusion had truly occurred, she would have been able to get her relatives elected. She also noted that Police Colonel Chatchanan Pornbutr is her husband.
When asked if she had ever been summoned to explain, Suksomruay said she once received a letter as an accused from Subcommittee 26, which listed hundreds of names without specifying which points to address, only citing violations 1 to 5. She responded denying any wrongdoing accordingly. The investigation of the gathering was completed within the provincial Election Commission two years ago.
Asked what might have caused her involvement in this matter, Suksomruay said, "As I said, Prit is a bit late—bringing up information that was conclusively settled two years ago. I have nothing more to say because I trust the court's verdict and the Election Commission's conclusions in each case are publicly known. I don't want to seek them out, but he chooses not to speak the truth."
Regarding whether the senator collusion case affects Bhumjaithai Party's stability, Suksomruay replied, "No, because we've faced many such accusations. We're used to it. We really have. And we believe when there's nothing else to say, they just bring this up again. Please focus on other issues."
Suksomruay said her legal team will review the broadcast of the program "Deep Dive Across Thailand - Inside Thailand 3" because they have evidence including court rulings and the Election Commission's conclusions from two years ago. She said the program seemed designed to incite hatred and insults, expressing disbelief that the younger generation would use such tactics.
When asked about Yingcheep Achjananot, manager of iLaw, who announced he would reveal all if the other party agreed to clarify the senator collusion case, Suksomruay said, "That's fine. If they have information, they should report it to the Election Commission and the Department of Special Investigation."