Query over senators’ bill ‘won’t delay poll’

The election roadmap will not be affected by a petition seeking a Constitutional Court ruling on the organic bill on senators, according to National Legislative Assembly (NLA) member Wallop Tungkananurak.

He made the remarks ahead of an expected petition yesterday signed by 30 members of the NLA.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has said the next election is likely to take place next February.

The NLA member said the petition only targets a few provisional clauses in the bill on the selection of senators.

Even if the court rules that any of these run counter to the charter, it would not affect the rest of the bill or delay the election timeline, he said.

Ong-art Klampaibul, deputy leader of the Democrat Party, said yesterday the situation has become more complicated because a joint committee set up to finetune the content of two bills — including one on the election of MPs — failed to do its job properly.

The joint panel comprised members of the NLA, the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) and the Election Commission.

Mr Ong-art said he suspects the current goings-on are part of a larger plot to help the regime stay in power given that both the NLA and CDC were born out of the National Council for Peace and Order.

CDC member Chartchai Na Chiangmai said yesterday the CDC had repeatedly warned the NLA about controversial points in the two bills, and the consequences that may follow if petitions are sought for charter court rulings after they are enacted.

Late on Wednesday, CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan submitted a letter to the NLA president spelling out the reasons why some contentious points in both bills should be settled by the Constitutional Court.

The CDC was worried about provisional clauses that would allow Senate candidates to appoint themselves, and organisations to field their own candidates. One of the problems is that they are pushing for intragroup instead of cross-group voting, it said.

According to the CDC, this could violate Section 107 of the constitution, which stipulates that senators must be installed from selections made by and among candidates.

Under the 2017 charter, senators are seen to have a crucial political role because they have a mandate to join MPs in choosing a non-MP prime minister, or “outsider” prime minister, if need be.

The NLA agreed to send the bill on senators to the court for a ruling.