Nine executives have applied for the post of secretary-general at the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
Seven applied during the initial application period from March 20 until April 7, while two more applied during the extended period, which ended on May 7.
NBTC chairman Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck said he would name the new NBTC secretary-general by June 15.
A source from NBTC management who requested anonymity said the first batch of applicants included Pakorn Apaphant, executive director and member of the executive board of Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, Trairat Viriyasirikul, NBTC's acting secretary-general, and Kittisak Sriprasert, former president of CAT Telecom.
The other four applicants in the first group comprise: Thanatmet Phatnarongrat, a member of NBTC's Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Committee; the scholar Pisit Boonsrimuang; Dr Polawat Witoolkollachit, a former board chairman of KTB Computer Services; and Surangkana Wayuparb, a former chief executive of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency.
Sutisak Tantayotin, NBTC's deputy secretary-general, and Peerakan Kaewwongwattana, the chief executive of Airport Rail Link, applied during the extended application period.
The NBTC source said Mr Pakorn and Mr Kittisak had the most potential among the external candidates, while Mr Trairat was best qualified among NBTC's internal applicants for the position.
The source said some people in the commission have speculated that Mr Pakorn was personally invited by the chairman to apply for the position.
Dr Sarana restated that his selection method for recruiting a new secretary-general complies with his level of authority and responsibility under NBTC regulations, despite some commissioners disagreeing with this point.
The chairman plans to choose a secretary-general, then propose the name to the other NBTC commissioners for their consideration and approval.
Some commissioners doubt whether this selection method complies with the NBTC's related laws and regulations.
Dr Sarana cited Section 61 of the NBTC Act that stipulates the chairperson, with the consent of the NBTC board, shall appoint the secretary-general.
He said earlier the secretary-general would have to work closely with him, so it would be impractical if the commissioners jointly selected a candidate without first gaining his approval for the appointment.
Some commissioners also doubt whether the selected candidate will be able to win approval from a majority of the NBTC's board, which now has a full allotment of seven members, suggesting some commissioners might not agree to endorse the recruit.
Commissioners who disagreed with the recruitment method said anonymously the process could be deemed legally invalid as the process never obtained formal approval from the board.
On March 7, the NBTC board held a meeting to prepare an agenda for the selection of the secretary-general. At the meeting, NBTC's management proposed only a draft of candidate qualifications for the board's consideration.
A selection method was proposed separately, but only for their acknowledgement.
The move surprised some commissioners as they believed they had convened to consider both the candidates' qualifications and the selection procedure during the same meeting.
At the meeting, three of the six commissioners present -- Dr Sarana, Pol Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn and Torpong Selanon -- voted in favour of considering only the draft of candidates' qualifications, instead of both the qualifications and the selection method.
The other three commissioners reserved the right not to vote on the matter. They were AM Thanapant Raicharoen, Pirongrong Ramasoota and Suphat Suphachalasai.
Dr Sarana then exercised his power as chairman to cast a tiebreaking vote, resulting in a 4-3 resolution on the issue.
In terms of legal practice, the NBTC board has to give final approval to the March 7 resolution before the recruitment process can begin, said the source.
The board was scheduled to vote on final approval of the resolution according to the agenda for a March 29 meeting.
The commission announced before the meeting Sompop Purivigraipong would become the seventh NBTC commissioner, following recent publication in the Royal Gazette. Mr Sompop joined the March 29 meeting.
The source said the meeting did not call for a vote to provide final approval for the March 7 resolution.
Dr Sarana insisted the recruitment process is valid as he holds the authority and responsibility to push ahead with the process.
The 4-3 vote on the resolution at the March 7 meeting was sufficient to move ahead with the process, he said.
