Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai insists he is unfazed by the prospect of the Constitutional Court hearing a case about interference in the Senate election that could cost him his cabinet position.
Mr Phumtham, who is also the defence minister, said on Thursday that he had not appointed a legal team because he felt there would be no problem with the proceedings.
“There’s nothing to it. We go about doing our jobs. It’s all up to the court now,” he said. “We stay true and honest to our jobs.”
He was responding to a question about whether a guilty ruling against him could cause the administration to crumble, as he is widely seen as one of its key managers and the right-hand man of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court accepted a petition filed by 92 senators, asking it to rule on whether Mr Phumtham and Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong should be stripped of their posts for interfering in the Senate election.
The petition seeks to determine if the ministers’ actions violated the constitution, particularly Article 170, Paragraph 1(4), in relation to their role in a special investigation into vote-rigging in last year’s poll.
The senators have accused both ministers of abuse of power for using the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to undermine the independence of the Election Commission (EC). Mr Phumtham chairs the special cases committee of the DSI.
They maintained the EC is the sole agency authorised to investigate poll-related complaints.
The court accepted the petition and told the ministers to submit a response within 15 days. However, it decided not to suspend them from duty at this stage, as no substantial evidence had yet been presented to warrant such a move.
The DSI was asked to look into last year’s senatorial election after some losing candidates complained the EC appeared to be dragging its feet in investigating poll irregularities.
The investigation centres on alleged collusion that resulted in the election of dozens of senators linked to a “blue” party, a reference to Bhumjaithai, the second-largest party in the coalition.
The conservative “blue” bloc is thought to consist of at least 120 senators out of a total of 200, including 14 from Buri Ram province, the home of Bhumjaithai patriarch Newin Chidchob.
These senators were outraged when the DSI began its preliminary inquiries. The agency subsequently decided to limit its investigation into money laundering, while the EC would look into collusion.
The EC said recently it had found 27 “promising” cases of collusion, but it has not yet decided whether to launch a full investigation. It also said it welcomed assistance from the DSI as the case was so complex.
