The Election Commission (EC) assigned officials to deliver a petition along with two boxes of supporting documents to the Constitutional Court, requesting a ruling on the Supreme Court's authority regarding the review of Senate candidate qualifications. This followed the EC's majority vote of 5 to 2 approving the submission.
At 10:15 a.m. on 12 Nov 2026 GMT+7, the Election Commission Office authorized officials to submit a petition to the Constitutional Court, seeking a ruling on the EC's duties and powers in verifying Senate candidate qualifications. They delivered two boxes containing the petition's supporting documents.
This petition submission follows the EC's majority decision of 5 to 2 to propose the matter to the Constitutional Court under Section 210, Paragraph One (2) of the Constitution, after the Supreme Court's Election Division accepted a petition concerning the qualification review of Senate candidates and the request to reconsider the EC's ruling.
The EC's request for the Constitutional Court's ruling involves two issues: First, whether the orders and announcements by district, provincial, and national election directors accepting candidate registrations and listing qualified candidates without disqualifications are final and cannot be further reviewed, except as provided in Section 63 of the 2018 Organic Act on the Election of Senators.
The second issue is whether the EC's rulings under Sections 60 Paragraph Two and 62 of the same law are final, and if a petition can be submitted to the Supreme Court to review or reconsider those rulings.
Meanwhile, EC minority members Sitthichot Intarawiset and Chai Nakornchai opposed the petition, arguing that it affects the Supreme Court's review authority and is beyond the Constitutional Court's jurisdiction under Section 210, Paragraph One (2). They also believe submitting the petition under this section does not require the Supreme Court to await the Constitutional Court's ruling before proceeding with the case.
