South Dovani

[Wu Han]

Opposition's Anti-Corruption Bill Passes After HP and SNP Vote Against Coalition
3 February 5644

Udon Nakhon – In an unprecedented break with the governing coalition, the Homeland Party (HP) and the Strong Nation Party (SNP) have voted for anti-corruption legislation co-sponsored by the leaders of the opposition Justice Party (JP) and Citizens' Alliance (CA). The National Integrity Act (NIA), aimed at strengthening regulations against bribery and graft among bureaucrats and elected officials, passed late last night with a vote of 258-219, with 23 Assembly members from various parties abstaining.

The most immediate change for the nation's 2 million civil servants is the mandatory Asset Disclosure Registry. Under the NIA, every state employee above a certain pay grade, as well as every elected official, must submit to a "Life-Audit," including the mandatory disclosure of all domestic and foreign bank accounts, property holdings, and corporate interests. The NIA also increases funding for the Independent Anti-Corruption Agency (IACA) and empowers it to investigate officials whose living standards significantly exceed their reported income. Under a new "Unexplained Wealth" clause in the legislation, the burden of proof shifts to the official to prove that their assets were legally acquired.

While the bureaucratic reforms are broadly popular, new powers granted to the Supreme Court under the NIA were at the heart of the contentious debate over the legislation for weeks in the National Assembly. Under Article 12 of the Act, the Court is empowered to remove elected legislators and dissolve political parties if it finds that the lawmaker or the party's leadership has engaged in "systemic conduct that contributes to the grave destabilization of the national institutional order or national cohesion." Moreover, Article 12 prohibits a seat vacated due to a Court ruling to be filled by the party's list, as is the case ordinarily when a seat is vacated.

"The logic is simple," said Kawin Kittisakchai, leader of the left-wing Justice Party and co-author of the legislation. "If a party or politician wins a seat using stolen money, that seat is poisoned; if a party or politician uses their seat to enrich themselves at the expense of the nation, that seat is poisoned. You cannot cure poison with more poison."

Nevertheless, critics in the government, as well as some in the opposition, argue that the Article 12 powers, intended as a scalpel, could be wielded as a sword by a politically-compromised judiciary. The opposition United Communities Party (UCP) voted with the government against the legislation, alongside 20 of the New Elephant Workers' Party's (NEWP) 28 elected legislators.

"Unelected judges will be given the power to overturn the will of the people if any conduct is deemed, by these unelected judges, to have met a broadly defined criteria," argued Deputy Justice Minister Thamboon Khuntilanont (UCF). "This legislation is undemocratic, and extremely dangerous."

The legal community in South Dovani remains divided on the passage of the NIA, with University of Khattaya law professor Arthit Kittithrakul arguing in a widely-shared blog post that the bill will not survive a constitutional challenge, given that the constitution explicitly mandates that if a lawmaker is disqualified or incapacitated, their seat is to be filled by the next person on their party list, whereas the NIA nullifies the mandate of the party to fill a seat vacated under the conditions of Article 12, essentially creating a "shrinking legislature."

The bill has now been sent to the desk of President Kob Suchinda to be signed into law. President Kob, despite being an ally of Prime Minister Prasert, is expected to sign the bill given the anti-corruption politics and messaging at the heart of his previous successful campaigns for the presidency.

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Sue Pracha (สื่อประชา; People's Media) is South Dovani's leading progressive daily newspaper.