Ex-MP Ekkarat’s U-turn lets Bhumjaithai off hook in Senate probe

Disgraced former MP Ekkarat Changlao has thrust himself back into the spotlight by dramatically retracting his testimony in the Senate vote-rigging investigation just days before the verdict.

Ekkarat’s initial testimony to the Election Commission (EC) led to charges of electoral fraud against Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and key figures of his ruling Bhumjaithai Party. He originally testified that a group of party executives proposed a plan to “acquire Bhumjaithai-controlled senators” during a June 2024 party meeting he attended.

However, he withdrew his statements just three days before the EC verdict, claiming he had made the allegations under pressure from Bhumjaithai’s rivals.

The EC’s subsequent decision to drop charges against top party figures triggered public outrage and street protests.

Former MP Ekkarat Changlao (Photo by: Bhumjaithai Party’s website)

An ‘unreliable witness’

On September 14, the seven election commissioners voted to drop their case against all Bhumjaithai executives implicated by Ekkarat, citing his unreliability as a witness after he changed his statement. Instead, the election watchdog opted to refer 77 other individuals, including 26 sitting senators, to the Supreme Court.

Critics and opposition MPs challenged the EC decision, pointing out that phone records supported his initial claims of contact with Bhumjaithai figures accused of election collusion.

Independent watchdog iLaw claimed that certain election commissioners, whose appointments were endorsed by the Senate, used their authority to protect Bhumjaithai-aligned senators.

The 200-member Upper House is widely believed to be dominated by the ruling party after a complicated election that saw over 40,000 candidates vote among themselves at district, provincial and national levels to determine the final winners.

Last year, a joint investigation by the EC and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) recommended that 229 people – 138 sitting senators and 91 others, including Bhumjaithai Party executives – be charged with electoral fraud.

However, all 229 suspects were cleared by a new EC investigation team set up after Bhumjaithai came to power. The seven election commissioners instead decided on September 14 to refer 77 of the 229 original suspects to the Supreme Court.

Lifetime ban for embezzlement

Ekkarat, 68, was expelled from Bhumjaithai in April last year after the Khon Kaen Provincial Court found him guilty of embezzling over 400 million baht from a teachers’ cooperative that he managed, sentencing him to 12 years and nine months in prison.

Based on a lower court’s verdict, the National Anti-Corruption Commission took the case to the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, accusing Ekkarat of severe ethical breach. The Supreme Court in May ruled against Ekkarat, barring him from contesting elections for life and stripping him of voting rights for 10 years.

Ekkarat was born in Khon Kaen on April 3, 1958. He holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Loei Rajabhat University, a master’s in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University, and a doctorate in public administration from Eastern Asia University in Pathum Thani.

He began his teaching career at a local school in his home province and went on to serve as manager of the Khon Kaen Teachers' Savings Cooperative, where he became embroiled in the embezzlement scandal.

He shifted to politics in 2006 but failed to win a seat in the Senate representing Khon Kaen. The following year, he joined a new political party called Puea Pandin and ran for an MP seat in his home province, but again fell short.

After the 2014 military coup, the ruling junta appointed him to the National Reform Council. He later joined the Palang Pracharath Party, formed as a vehicle to extend the premiership of junta leader General Prayut Chan-o-cha.

In the 2019 general election, he finally secured a seat after being elected as a Palang Pracharath list MP. His son, Wattana, was also elected as a Palang Pracharath constituency MP for Khon Kaen.

Three years later, Ekkarat was expelled from the then-ruling party as part of Thamanat Prompow’s faction of dissident MPs. He joined Bhumjaithai and won a Khon Kaen seat in the 2023 general election.

In May last year, a month after his expulsion from Bhumjaithai, Ekkarat joined Thamanat’s Klatham Party and was later appointed as a deputy leader.