Election-related bills ‘still at risk of being axed’

Democrat deputy boss hints at sinister motive

The possibility of the two bills on the election of MPs and selection of senators being scrapped or sent for a Constitutional Court review, which would yet again push back an election, cannot be ruled out, political sources say.

The possibility was raised by Democrat Party deputy leader Nipit Intarasombat after the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) and the Election Commission (EC) decided to sit down via a single panel and thrash out their differences over the bills after they were passed by the NLA.

The bills are crucial pieces of legislation needed to prepare the ground for the next election, the deadline of which has already been extended from November to February next year.

The extension, stipulated by the NLAvetted bill on the election of MPs, has come under heavy fire from many politicians.

The bills were sent to the CDC and the EC to study. Both bodies disagreed with some of the changes the NLA made to the bills’ content during scrutiny.

The CDC and EC see the MP election bill as problematic in several areas: staging entertainment shows during poll campaigns; the rights of voters who fail to vote in an election; extending the poll deadline to February next year; and helpers assisting disabled voters cast their votes.

The problem with the bill on the selection of senators lies with the NLA changing the method of selection, from professional and social groups voting on candidates across groups to voting within the groups only.

The joint panel will try and fine-tune the content they cannot agree on.

Political analysts said the CDC has reason to be unhappy with changes the NLA made to the bills it drafted. The EC, on the other hand, has focused on potential technical problems which might arise in staging elections.

Mr Nipit called the joint panel a diversion from what could be a more sinister development in the near future.

He urged people to watch out for any attempt to rectify the bills in a way which could lead to a lengthy delay in holding the next election.

If the panel cannot resolve disagreements over the two bills, the NLA will have two options, according to Mr Nipit.

One, the assembly might seek to scrap either or both of the bills, a step which would require them to be returned to the NLA for a vote. If the NLA votes to axe them, the election roadmap will be halted for the long haul as attempts could be made to amend the charter to accommodate new organic bills which will be written later.

In that case, a new constitution will necessitate a referendum to be held, a process which would take up to two years, according to Mr Nipit.

The NLA might seek a second option, which is to submit the bills to the Constitutional Court to see whether they are constitutionally sound. There is no telling how long the court’s deliberations would take. The certainty is it will cause the poll deadline to be pushed back further, Mr Nipit added.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam admitted any Constitutional Court petition on the bills was never factored into the roadmap. If a ruling must be sought, it would likely stretch out the poll deadline.

Should the two bills be dropped by the NLA, it would be an unprecedented move as the assembly has never scrapped any legislation before.

“Any contentious points in the two bills should be fixed [by the joint panel] to keep them from being torn up or sent to the court. A compromise is in order,” Mr Wissanu said.

CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan, meanwhile, said people should not worry about the bills being doomed, adding the NLA had its reason to alter the bills.

However, he said he could not say with confidence the bills would not be scrapped.

“Who knows what will become of anything. Don’t speculate too much or you won’t be able to sleep,” he said.

Election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said the NLA had rewritten a significant portion of the bill on the selection of senators, which formed the core basis of the legislation. If the bill is corrected by the CDC back to the original version and went back to the NLA, there is a chance it might be sunk by the assembly.

NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said the joint panel will be made up of 11 members; five from the NLA, five from the CDC and one from the EC.

He said he did not think the bills would be returned to the NLA and shot down as doing so would require the backing of at least two-thirds of the lawmakers.