A spokesman for the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) committee scrutinising an organic bill on the election of MPs has denied a rumour the panel has been instructed to derail the bill to further delay the general election expected late this year.
The committee will try to finish deliberation of the bill by the Jan 26 deadline before forwarding it to the NLA, panel spokesman Taweesak Suthakavatin said yesterday.
He said the panel was not under pressure despite the bill having drawn much public attention.
The panel is doing its duty and there have been no instructions for it to derail the bill in order to delay the election expected in November, Mr Taweesak said.
He said the committee was unable agree to a proposal from several panel members that the Election Commission (EC) be given more power to search the houses and vehicles of poll candidates without the need to seek a court warrant.
Seree Suwannapanon, who sits on the scrutiny committee, said the panel believed the proposal would give the EC too much power.
NLA chairman Pornpetch Wichitcholchai yesterday said there was no need for him to give signals to the scrutiny panel to amend the organic bill in line with a fresh Section 44 order issued to amend the organic law on political parties.
Mr Pornpetch said the committee will have to scrutinise the bill carefully but insisted the Section 44 order would not affect the election roadmap.
Meanwhile, acting Pheu Thai Party deputy spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard called on the election watchdog to reveal progress in a lawsuit against a group of protesters who disrupted elections in 2014 that culminated in the coup that year.
On March 21, 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled 6-3 that the Feb 2, 2014 election was unconstitutional on the basis that no polls were held in 28 constituencies in the South.
Voting could not take place in eight southern provinces because no candidates were registered due to disruption caused by anti-government protesters.
"The EC should explain how it has gone about investigating these people and setting an example in order that there never be a repeat of this disruption," Mr Pornpetch said.
