The Election Commission yesterday voted 3-2 recommending a gubernatorial re-election after finding out that incumbent Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra won the poll on March 3 last year with the help of slanderous campaigns assisted by fellow politicians that gave him an advantage over other candidates.
The EC decision would need to be endorsed by a Court of Appeals ruling before a re-election, which Sukhumbhand could contest, EC chairman Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said. He explained that Sukhumbhand had not been disqualified, or red-carded, because there wasn't sufficient evidence against him for violation of the 2002 local electoral law.
The Court of Appeals Region 1 will make the final decision at a date not yet scheduled.