Translation:Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, 2489 Buddhist Era/Annex
Announcement
of the Procedure for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders According
to the Transitory Provisions of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand,
2489 Buddhist Era
By virtue of the power under the stipulations of section 90 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, 2489 Buddhist Era, the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders designates the following procedure for the election of Members of the Chamber of Elders:
Article1.This Announcement shall be called the "Announcement of the Procedure for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders According to the Transitory Provisions of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, 2489 Buddhist Era".
Article2.This Announcement shall come into force from the 10th day of May 2489[1] onwards.
Chapter 1
General provisions
Article3.An applicant for candidacy must file his application in person with the Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders during the official hours within the 21th day of May 2489.
Article4.On the 24th day of May 2489, during the time from 9:00 hours to 16:00 hours, the election of Members of the Chamber of Elders shall be conducted in the venue provided therefor at the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, which is employed as the Secretariat General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders.
Article5.If there are only eighty or fewer applicants for candidacy, those applicants shall be deemed to have already been elected by the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders without having to conduct the voting.
Article6.The Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders shall provide convenience for and maintain peace and order in the [course of the] election as he finds appropriate.
Article7.The President of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders shall be in charge of the execution of this Announcement, and shall have the power to lay down rules for control of the voting and for other affairs in the implementation of the provisions of this Announcement.
Chapter 2
Application for candidacy
Article8.At the time of filing an application according to the stipulations of article 3, an applicant for candidacy must also deliver to the Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders a sum of one hundred baht and six photographs of himself in the size of six inches, as well as the evidence showing his qualifications and academic standing according to the law.
Article9.When an applicant for candidacy has correctly filed an application, the Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders shall give an order certifying it on that day and shall issue a receipt to the person filing the application.
The form set up by the Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders shall be used as the application form.
Article10.The Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders shall make an inquiry as to whether or not an applicant for candidacy can apply for candidacy in accordance with this Announcement. If he can, his acceptance shall be posted up at the Secretariat General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders. But if he cannot for any reason, he shall be notified thereof promptly and before the election day.
Article11.The Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders shall designate identification numbers for the applicants for candidacies in order of the receipt of their applications.
Article12.If the Secretary General of Organisations for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders refuses to accept an application, the applicant for candidacy has the right to file a complaint with a five-person commission which has been established therefor by the Organisation for the Election. When the commission of the Organisation for the Election has received the complaint, it shall rule as to whether or not the application should be accepted, and shall notify the Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders of its order before the designated election day. The order of the commission shall be deemed final.
Chapter 3
Canvassing commission
Article13.The Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders shall establish a nine-person canvassing commission. After it has been established, a list of the names [of its members] shall be posted up at the Secretariat General of the Organisation for the Election. [The presence of] five or more members of the canvassing commission shall be deemed empowered to act.
Article14.Rulings of the canvassing commission on whatever affairs shall be in accordance with the majority of votes.
Chapter 4
Voting
Article15.The ballot boxes and ballots which are to be used in the voting shall be as provided by the Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders.
Article16.When the voting is to be open, the canvassing commission shall open the ballot boxes for the eligible voters present at the election venue to see that the boxes are empty, and shall then close and lock the ballot boxes until the voting is finished.
Article17.During the hours the voting is open, no ballot box shall be opened, save where there is unavoidable necessity, upon which the canvassing commission shall be permitted to open it without taking [any] ballot out of it and shall then close it as before. In such an event as this, the canvassing commission shall carry out the act in the presence of the eligible voters present at the election venue and shall also produce a report recording the grounds for opening the ballot box.
Article18.On the election day, the eligible voters shall present themselves before the canvassing commission and sign a list of their names. After the canvassing commission has distributed ballots to them, the eligible voters shall then register their votes by means of crossing on the designated ballots the names of the candidates they find appropriate to be elected as Members of the Chamber of Elders.
Article19.[When] voting in the election, the eligible voters may exercise the right to vote according to the procedure under article 18 for not more than eighty names.
Article20.Each and every one of the eligible voters may only register one vote for a single candidate. Making several crosses on the name of any candidate on a ballot does not result in the candidate getting any additional point.
Article21.Any eligible voter who receives a ballot for voting and does not wish to vote for any candidate at all shall return the ballot to the canvassing commission and the canvassing commission shall record this on a name list.
Chapter 5
Canvassing and summing up of votes
Article22.On the election day, upon reaching the time of 9:00 hours, the canvassing commission shall announce open the voting.
Article23.Upon reaching the time of 16:00 hours, the canvassing commission shall announce close the voting and shall then open the ballot boxes for further counting the votes.
Article24.In counting the votes, the commission shall rule as to whether any ballot is invalid and shall note down [the invalidity] and keep [the invalid ballots] out to be gathered as a separate part.
Article25.The following ballots shall be deemed invalid, namely—
(1)forged ballots;
(2)ballots on which voters have crossed more than eighty names;
(3)ballots on which no cross has been made at all.
A ballot marked with a symbol other than that which has been designated or a symbol which is blurry or indistinct that no ruling can be made about it shall be deemed invalid only for the name in question.
Article26.The members of the canvassing commission shall affix their confirming signatures to the vote recording forms which have completely been used in the summing up of the votes.
Article27.After the voting has been closed, the canvassing commission shall count the votes in public. The counting of the votes shall not be adjourned or delayed. It must be done continuously until it is finished at one stretch.
Article28.Once the counting of the votes is finished, the canvassing commission shall promptly report the results of the counting and deliver the boxes containing the ballots, which are closed and locked, to the President of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders.
Article29.The Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders shall announce the election results and report the results to the President of the Organisation for the Election so that they be reported further to the Chamber of Elders and the Government.
This announcement of the election results must promptly be posted up at the Secretariat General of the Organisation for the Election.
Article30.The first eighty electees with the highest points[2] shall be deemed to have been elected as Members of the Chamber of Elders. In the event of a tie in the points, the names shall be ordered in accordance with the identification numbers received when applying for candidacies, and in the event of a tie in the points of the last persons, the electees with those tied points shall, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders, draw lots to decide which of them will be elected.
[As regards] the method of lot drawing, there shall be lots in the same number as the number of the persons whose points are tied, with lots containing a text saying "elected" in any wanted number and the rest being lots containing a text saying "not elected". Whoever draws up a lot with a text saying "elected" shall be elected as a Member of the Chamber of Elders.
Chapter 6
Challenge to the election
Article31.Any candidate who finds that any electee has been unduly elected has the right to file a request of challenge with the commission according to the stipulations of article 12 within a limit of fifteen days counted from the election day.
Article32.Once the commission has received a challenge, it shall proceed to consider, inquire, and rule as to whether or not the challenged electee has been duly elected. If his election did not take place in a due manner, it shall order revoking his right as an elected Member of the Chamber of Elders.
Once the revocation has been ordered as said in paragraph 1, the elected persons whose points are next to the eightieth shall, in order, become electees instead. In the event of a tie in the points, the regulations under article 30 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Whilst the commission has not yet ordered otherwise, the challenged electee shall be deemed to have been duly elected.
Announced on the 10th day of May 2489 Buddhist Era
Naep Phahonyothin
President of the Organisation for the Election of Members of the Chamber of Elders