ABSTRACT

The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) was officially formed on 27 November 1997, according to the 1997 "People's Constitution". The ECT combines the mission of the Local Administration Department (LAD) of the Interior Ministry with that of PollWatch, and is in many ways comparable to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the Philippines. The actual workings of the ECT are to be set up according to one of three interrelated organic laws to constitute a new system of elections. In addition to the Election Commission Law, there is a Political Party Law and an Election Law. Initially, the parliamentary scrutinizing committee argued that there was no need for the ECT to have its own staff to monitor elections since officials from the Interior Ministry could be sent to help. The committee also agreed to amend the Election Commission which originally empowered the ECT to order officials of state agencies or state enterprises to perform duties concerning elections or public hearings.