Somdet Chuang is acting Supreme Patriarch and chairman of the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC). The SSC unanimously nominated him to the top post at a meeting on Jan 5.
"Many malicious groups have tried to attack the Thai monastic community with false accusations. They tried to interfere with the appointment of the Supreme Patriarch, by claiming the SSC's nomination for supreme patriarch was malpractice," the statement said.
"The nomination process was in fact conducted carefully and transparently. All of these actions show these groups are trying to prevent the SSC's unanimous decision to nominate the new supreme patriarch," according to the group's statement.
In its statement, the Buddhist network also demanded that Buddhism be declared the official state religion in the new constitution