More than 20 Thai senators accused of election fraud

Thailand's Election Commission accused 26 sitting senators on Monday of colluding to rig the last Senate election, an alleged vote-buying scandal that has sparked protests and could see them jailed.

The commission said it will refer the case, which allegedly involves senators allied with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's party, to the Supreme Court.

The 26 were among 77 people accused in the scandal, alongside 36 unsuccessful Senate candidates and 15 other political figures accused of election fraud. None was identified.

The Senate scrutinises bills passed by the lower house and appoints heads of key government bodies such as the Constitutional Court, National Anti-Corruption Commission and Election Commission.

The contested election took place in June 2024, the first such poll since a coup a decade earlier, when the senators were chosen by the military.

Rather than a direct election by Thai voters, senators were chosen by other Senate candidates to represent 20 different sectors, including justice, education, public health, industry, arts and sport.

The 200 members chosen in the three-round process included a significant number of former civil servants, military and police officers, and many who back Anutin's conservative Bhumjaithai party, according to analysts.

The commission has 60 days to file its petition to the Supreme Court, which must then decide if it wants to hear the case.

If convicted, violators face up to 10 years in prison per offence, a 200,000 baht ($6,000) fine, or both.

The case has been rumbling on for months, amid reports that 229 people, including more than 130 senators, senior Bhumjaithai party members and other politicians, were implicated in a government investigation into election fraud.

Senior Election Commission officials did not confirm the figure at a news conference on Monday.

Hundreds of Thais marched through Bangkok on Sunday calling for the indictment of the 229 in a protest organised by accountability watchdog iLaw.

Yingcheep Atchanont, executive director of iLaw, has pledged to release troves of documents he says are from the Election Commission's investigation if the Supreme Court does not hear the case.