Senate Speaker Mongkol Surasajja has voiced strong opposition to the Department of Investigation's (DSI) plan to investigate complaints related to last year's Senate elections.
His remarks come amid reports that the DSI is preparing to look into the complaints related to vote-fixing, following calls from a group of unsuccessful candidates who demanded the Election Commission (EC) step up its investigations or hand them over to the DSI.
Speaking at a press conference attended by a group of senators on Friday, Mr Mongkol emphasised that the EC has the mandate from the constitution to examine election fraud claims, and the commission has already accepted the complaints for probing.
He urged those without the authority not to interfere, and the senators, who were selected according to the law and regulations, would take action to protect their dignity and reputation.
The current 200-member Senate was chosen from 20 professional groups in a month-long process that involved intra- and inter-professional group voting rounds at the local, provincial and national levels from June 9 to 26 last year.
Complaints have been raised over alleged collusion to manipulate the results.
Early this month, Pol Maj Gen Kamrob Panyakaew, who is on a list of reserves, criticised the EC for acting too slowly in response to the complaints about alleged irregularities in the Senate polls. He also warned that if the commission failed to complete its investigations in time, he would petition the DSI to take over the cases.
Pol Maj Gen Chatrawat Saengphet, a senator, said on Friday that reports about possible DSI intervention could undermine public trust and confidence in the Senate, particularly since the agency is not authorised to conduct such investigations.
The Senate is gathering evidence and legal arguments to counter the "exaggerated" allegations against the selection process, he said.
Pol Col Kob Atjanakitti, another senator, defended the legitimacy of the Senate on Friday, saying the senators were elected as stipulated by the charter.
"Accusing a legislative body of being formed through an illegal and unconstitutional process amounts to slander," he said.
He also expressed scepticism that the accusations are politically motivated, suggesting they could be part of an effort to justify calls for charter rewrite as a cabinet minister is among those commenting on the allegations.
On Feb 16, Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong said Senate election complaints had been lodged with the DSI, which found sufficient grounds to refer the matter to the EC. According to the minister, some of the allegations involved criminal offences under the Criminal Code, implying that they should be handled by the DSI.
Pol Maj Gen Kamrob on Friday repeated calls for the EC to provide an update on the investigation's progress.