PM backs appointed Senate proposal

Members would work for five years after poll

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday backed Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon’s proposal for a chamber of appointed senators to work for five years after a general election to ensure implementation of national reforms.

“I’ve been saying we still have problems and we need to figure out how to create balance during the transitional period. The provisional clauses in the charter should address this,” Gen Prayut said.

He said the appointed Senate is expected to carry on with the military junta’s reforms by monitoring national reforms in addition to ensuring good governance, transparency and implementation of the national strategy.

“If we stick to the old system [of elections], parliament will be full of relatives, children and spouses [of politicians] and the country won’t move forward. But the appointed Senate isn’t meant to find fault with the government. It’s to help the government evaluate its performance,” he said.

He said many other countries also have fully appointed senates.

Gen Prayut said parliamentary debates should not focus on corruption alone, but also follow up on the implementation of national reforms.

Defending the proposed 20-year national strategy, the prime minister said the plan provides a set of guidelines, not specifics.

He also said political parties should also design their policy platforms to be in line with the national strategy and reform guidelines.

“Political parties should be able to answer who will benefit from their platforms,” Gen Prayut said. “Take the crop-pledging scheme. They should be able to say how other groups will benefit from it.

“The policy platforms should be consistent with national strategies, for national reform. If any party has this in its platform, I will vote for it.”

The charter draft prepared by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) led by Meechai Ruchupan calls for the indirect election of 200 senators elected from 20 professional groups, 10 from each group.

The proposed make-up has drawn ire from political parties which prefer direct elections and from academics who prefer appointed senators.

Meanwhile, National Legislative Assembly (NLA) chairman Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said the NLA is opposed to the CDC’s proposed Senate composition out of concerns about “organised block votes” among professional groups.

He said the NLA believes appointment by a screening committee is least flawed when compared with direct elections and the CDC’s indirect elections.

However, Mr Pornpetch said the final draft will be ready on March 29.

Fears are growing that an appointed Senate might propose to allow members of coup-appointed bodies such as the NLA, the National Reform Steering Assembly or even the junta hold onto power.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam yesterday declined to comment on Mr Meechai’s remark that the Senate would be assigned to assist during the fiveyear transitional period.

He said he did not know what Mr Meechai had in mind.