The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has released details of its 4,000-page investigation on the impeachment cases against former Senate speaker Nikom Wairatpanij and ex-House speaker Somsak Kiatsuranon.
The NACC said it found evidence to seek the removal of the two based on the charges of malfeasance in office, abuse of power and gross violation of ethical conduct in accordance with sections 270 and 291 of the 2007 constitution.
The charges followed a petition filed by former lawmakers seeking the impeachment of the politicians, arguing they illegally exercised their power by cutting short a parliamentary debate, despite having several legislators on the waiting list to speak.
Mr Nikom was chairing a House-Senate session in March last year, debating a charter amendment bill to change the composition of the Senate, when a legislator proposed a motion to close the debate. Mr Nikom claimed he had no choice but to stop the debate and call a vote on the motion.
But the NACC determined Mr Nikom's claim was unfounded. The NACC argues the chairman of a joint meeting must ensure the meeting proceeds smoothly under regulations governing House-Senate joint sessions. If Mr Nikom found the motion to be improper, there were other courses of action to choose from. Later, the Constitutional Court ruled the bill was unconstitutional.
In the case of Mr Somsak, the NACC said he endorsed a motion on March 27 to debate a charter amendment that would make the Senate fully elected. But the bill Mr Somsak introduced was different from the one proposed by Pheu Thai MP Udomdej Rattanasathian and endorsed by Mr Somsak on March 20.
Mr Somsak's version included changes that would have allowed the elected senators to serve unlimited consecutive terms. The NACC said the principles of the new document were not consistent with those of the original.