The "Progressive Social Security Team" has submitted a petition to the Administrative Court to revoke the order postponing the election, proposing that "Julapan" proceed with the election as originally planned.
On 5 Aug 2026 GMT+7, the Progressive Social Security Team, consisting of 14 candidates running for the Social Security Board from both insured persons and employers, filed a lawsuit at the Administrative Court seeking to annul the Social Security Election Commission's announcement postponing the election. They also presented proposals to the Minister of Labour to proceed with the election on the original date, 27 Sep 2026 GMT+7. They noted that it has been 5 months and 22 days since the first elected Social Security Board's term expired. During this period, the Progressive Social Security Team, as representatives of insured persons elected by vote, have diligently worked to reform the Social Security Fund. Although their six votes have not yet fully transformed welfare or eradicated corruption within the fund, the public is now well aware of the distorted structure caused by the Social Security Office operating under the civil service system.
Assoc. Prof. Sattharum Thammabutsadee stated that Thai social security has never truly operated under a tripartite system where representatives of the three parties—employers, employees, and the state—balance power as commonly believed. Instead, it has been dominated by the civil service, which has spent over 30 years monopolizing social security from start to finish, from the first to the last baht. They have used the hard-earned contributions of insured persons to build a power network, masquerading as employer representatives and nominally representing employees, but in reality, this power group has never genuinely represented either employers or employees, acting rather like parasites merely siphoning off contributions daily.
He affirmed that their current struggle on the Social Security Board is not a fair tripartite negotiation but a battle against entrenched power groups that have controlled the Ministry of Labour for a long time. Regardless of how many permanent secretaries or ministers have changed, they merely pass the baton in a cycle that relentlessly exploits workers’ lives. In this election, the Progressive Social Security Team aims to secure all 14 seats from both insured persons and employers to reform the corrupt social security structure, break the Ministry of Labour’s endless cycle of power passing, restore normalcy to the Social Security Fund, and the first step to reform is returning power to the people through elections. However, the current social security election process is a marathon, requiring a total of 7 months since the previous board’s term ended: 3 months waiting for the election announcement, 2 months for registration, 1 month announcing eligible voters, and 1 month for preparation, totaling 7 months before board representatives reflecting the people's will can be seated.
Ministry of Labour’s order exceeds court authority.
Assoc. Prof. Sattharum further stated that 7 months is already a long enough period for social security administration to remain in a vacuum. Yet last week, the Social Security Election Commission, chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, issued an announcement to delay or postpone the election indefinitely, citing an order from the Administrative Court. This action exceeds what is necessary, as they cited a court order but did not comply with it because:
• One candidate who initiated the lawsuit to the Administrative Court raised two issues: 1. To revoke only item 2 of the election announcement, which requires eligible voters to pre-register, and 2. To allow insured persons who meet qualifications to vote on the original date, 27 Sep, without needing to register.
The Central Administrative Court issued a suspension order only for item 2 concerning the requirement for eligible voters to register. It did not order a delay or postponement of the entire election process. However, the Election Commission issued an announcement suspending the entire election process, including compiling the voter list, determining polling stations, listing candidates, and other procedures, without clearly specifying what is included or how long the delay would last. This suspension affects processes unrelated to item 2 of the election announcement that the court suspended.
The Progressive Social Security Team also noted that the Ministry of Labour has been preoccupied with postponing the election and has not considered appealing the court order. This raises questions whether this excessive action is part of a political game within the Ministry’s power network. By issuing a vague announcement to "suspend all processes" without a clear timeframe, citing the court order, they effectively obstruct the social security mechanism from returning to democratic processes and from restoring power to the people.
Petition filed to revoke suspension order.
Therefore, the Progressive Social Security Team has united to file a lawsuit at the Administrative Court requesting that:
1. The court revoke the Election Commission's announcement suspending the election.
2. The court order the Election Commission to conduct the election as normal on 27 Sep 2026 GMT+7.
This aims to restore normalcy and democracy to social security administration through representatives reflecting the people's will as soon as possible. They also issued a statement addressed to Mr. Julapan, the Minister of Labour.
Proposal to hold election on original date.
They expressed concern for Mr. Julapan Amornwiwat, Minister of Labour, stating that if he truly intends to reform social security as promised during his campaign, the election can proceed on the original date, 27 Sep 2026 GMT+7. They thus proposed:
1. To announce the list of all eligible voters based on existing data from the Social Security Office.
2. To organize polling stations according to prior registrations made by both employers and insured persons.
3. To announce polling stations along with the list of registered voters at each station, allowing eligible voters who have not yet chosen a station to update their preferred polling station online within a limited timeframe.
4. For eligible voters who have not selected a polling station, assign them to stations at their provincial Social Security Office or branch as listed.
5. To hold the election on the original date and time, 27 Sep 2026 GMT+7, without postponement, to promptly restore normalcy to the Social Security Fund.