Election Commission (EC) secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee is facing possible dismissal after reportedly failing to meet the annual performance benchmark set by the EC, with a final decision expected this month.
A news report on Friday said Mr Sawaeng scored below the 60% threshold required under the 2025 performance evaluation conducted by the seven-member EC panel led by former chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong, who stepped down on Dec 6, 2025.
However, the evaluation has yet to be submitted to a full EC meeting, as commissioner Thitichet Nuchanatta has not submitted his assessment.
The matter is expected to be tabled at a mid-June meeting of the new EC board chaired by Narong Klunwarin.
Under Section 56 of the organic law on the EC, the secretary-general must fulfil contractual requirements, including achieving a score of at least 60% in annual performance evaluations.
According to the report, the previous EC panel had already submitted six voting documents on Mr Sawaeng's assessment. The EC Office is awaiting Mr Thitichet's submission before forwarding the matter to the full commission, which could decide whether to terminate his contract.
The case has sparked controversy following reports questioning whether four former commissioners -- Mr Ittiporn, Santad Siriananphai, Lertviroj Kowattana and Pakorn Mahannop -- who took part in the evaluation still had the legal authority to do so after leaving office. Contractual terms stipulate that evaluators must be serving commissioners at the time of the assessment. The issue was reportedly discussed at a closed-door EC meeting on Thursday.
Former commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn criticised the process, arguing in a social media post that it was contradictory for Mr Sawaeng to face removal over poor performance while the EC itself remained beyond public scrutiny despite concerns about its effectiveness.
