Articles Sections Next

A free and fair Senate

With the election of a new set of senators on the horizon, curiosity is growing to see if past blunders can be avoided so as not to stigmatise the Upper House.

The current Senate's term is due to end on May 10 but it will carry on until July when the next set of 200 senators -- all of whom are indirectly elected -- take office.

The Election Commission (EC) published a set of regulations for the elections in the Royal Gazette on Feb 15.

The poll agency said it has set up Senate election centres in all the provinces and Bangkok. Soon it will name poll committees at the district and national levels.

The main duty of senators is to scrutinise the administration's performance and endorse appointments to independent public agencies such as the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and Constitutional Court.

Unlike the junta-appointed Senate, members of the new Upper House will not be allowed to co-elect a prime minister.

The 2017 charter stipulates that applicants must vote among themselves.

They will be selected from 20 professional groups, with 10 seats available for each group at district, province and national levels.

The EC debuted this electoral system in the 2018 Senate polls. Back then, 10 professional groups voted for 200 candidates, 50 of whom were confirmed by the junta.

The EC anticipated there will be around 100,000 applicants for the three levels this time.

Under the current system, 55,680 people -- or the three candidates with the highest votes in each professional group in all 928 districts nationwide -- will be shortlisted.

That number will then be screened down to 3,080, or two candidates at the top of each professional group for 77 provinces.

The 200 top candidates, or the 10 who garner the highest votes in the 20 groups, will become senators. There will also be a reserve list of five candidates in each group.

In principle, the Senate must remain neutral and free of political influence. But so far there has been no evidence of any recruitment process that can ensure their impartiality.

When the senators were directly elected, many were found to have close links to parties -- for example, a family member serving in the Lower House, with their spouse in the Senate.

Such affiliations badly affected the Upper House's performance in scrutinising the government.

At the same time, the Senate -- which was under the shadow of the former junta -- could hardly win public trust. Its role in blocking Pita Limjaroenrat, then-leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP), in his bid to become prime minister last July triggered public uproar.

Amid such controversy, pro-democracy groups are impatiently waiting for the term of the current Senate to expire.

There are also concerns over legal loopholes and the risk of manipulation and collusion among candidates for the election, especially at the district level.

More clarity is needed on what social media channels they can use ahead of the poll, and so on.

The EC must fix these, while watchdog agencies and the public have to be vigilant, so as to ensure the new Senate is truly independent and free.


This article was downloaded by calibre from https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2758223/a-free-and-fair-senate


Articles Sections Next