Responding to a recent call for more in-depth qualitative studies of electoral management bodies (EMBs), this article examines formally independent EMBs by using the example of the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) and the role it played in the recent 2019 election. We argue that in non-democratic regimes with high levels of political polarisation and entrenched elites, formal EMB independence may become part of the problem why elections fail. It creates opportunities for long-term EMB capture by actors who wield power outside of formal politics and are unaccountable to public interest. In case of the ECT, this has led to the decreasing electoral standards culminating in the highly contentious 2019 election where the ECT’s administrative efficiency and effectiveness of voting came secondary to pleasing the entrenched old Thai elite. Its conduct has reduced Thailand’s prospects for a peaceful transition to democratic rule as those who oppose the country’s old elite have increasingly limited opportunities to challenge it through formal means.

响应最近对选举管理机构（EMB）进行更深入的定性研究的呼吁，本文以泰国选举委员会（ECT）的示例及其在最近的2019年大选中扮演的角色为例，对正式独立的EMB进行了研究。我们认为，在政治分化程度高且精英根深蒂固的非民主政权中，正式的EMB独立性可能成为选举失败的问题的一部分。它为那些在正式政治之外行使权力，对公共利益不负责任的行为者长期占领EMB创造了机会。就ECT而言，这导致选举标准不断下降，最终导致极具争议的2019年大选，在ECT中，ECT的行政效率和投票效率仅次于取缔根深蒂固的老泰国精英。