The Department of Special Investigation's (DSI) special cases board will on Tuesday decide whether to launch an investigation into allegations of collusion and bloc voting in last year's Senate election.
Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong and Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who chairs the board, confirmed the move on Monday, with Mr Phumtham emphasising that the process would adhere to legal procedures and there would be no political interference.
The complaints related to vote-fixing were made by a group of unsuccessful candidates, including some reserve list candidates, who claimed the Election Commission (EC) has been slow to act.
It is speculated that the allegations are directed against "blue bloc" senators, a reference to a group known to favour the Bhumjaithai Party (BJT), a government coalition member.
The EC also submitted a request of its own for the case to be treated as a special investigation, which will also be considered, he said, stressing that the meeting was born out of legal necessity. It would not be politically motivated.
"If there is no clear legal basis, the case cannot be treated as a special investigation. If the evidence is compelling, we can't protect anyone. But it's not finalised as there will be further investigations and witness questioning.
"It also requires a two-thirds majority vote from the board to accept the matter as a special case," said Mr Phumtham, who also serves as the defence minister.
Pol Col Tawee recently said that the DSI would investigate allegations of criminal offences listed under the Criminal Code concerning the selection of the new Upper House.
The remark drew a strong response from several senators, including Deputy Speaker Gen Kriangkrai Srirak, who accused the minister of malfeasance and said he would seek his ouster.
It is reported that the criminal charges include criminal association posing a threat to national security under Sections 116(3) and 209 of the Criminal Code.
Pol Col Tawee said on Monday that evidence and witnesses will appear before the board while noting that the charge of criminal association was made by the complainants.
After shrugging off threats of a probe against him, Mr Tawee then failed to appear before the Senate to answer questions about the DSI's next steps.
The Senate was informed that Pol Col Tawee had an important matter to attend to and that he could not appear in person to address the questions.
Gen Kriangkrai, a former adviser to Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul, said on Monday that the Senate inquiry against Pol Col Tawee was agreed upon by Senate whips.
He said the DSI has a role to play in constitutional cases, as do the senators. He also pointed out that many senators have already been questioned by the EC, which is also actively investigating the claims.
Speaking after a closed-door meeting of the Senate whips, Senate Speaker Mongkol Surajajja on Monday insisted that the DSI has overstepped its authority and that all Senate-related complaints must be handled by the EC.
He said the action taken by the DSI is unlawful because the senators were elected under a legitimate process prescribed in the charter.
Mr Anutin, meanwhile, denied links to the blue faction and said all complaints are being addressed by certain agencies.
The current 200-member Senate was chosen last year, but allegations of collusion to manipulate the results quickly surfaced.
