Poll law changes seen as favouring major parties

A parliamentary committee vetting proposed amendments to the two organic laws on the election of MPs and political parties yesterday voted for a calculation method for party-list seats in what is seen to favour major political parties at the expense of small ones.

Spokesman Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said committee members voted 32 to 11 with two abstentions to support the use of 100 to divide the number of party-list votes gained by all parties nationwide proposed by major parties, instead of 500 as preferred by small parties.

The number 100 comes from the total party-list MPs while 500 refers to all the constituency and party-list MPs.

However, sources said committee members who favour the use of 500 are set to challenge the calculation method approved by the committee when draft amendments to the law on the election of MPs go to parliament for deliberation.

Those who favour the use of 500 include a group of small coalition partners led by the New Palang Dharma Party (NPDP).

Pheu Thai Party MP Somkid Chueakhong, who serves as the committee’s spokesman, said yesterday that the calculation method using 100 would put small parties at a disadvantage.

For example, if there are 35 million party-list votes gained by political parties nationwide, when the number is divided by 100, the number required to get a party-list seat would be around 350,000 votes.

That means small parties which have limited resources would have scant chance of winning a party-list seat, he said. Their only option would be to expand their membership base and work harder to contest the election, Mr Somkid added.

NPDP leader Rawee Matchamadol previously said 500 should be used to calculate party-list seats. With this formula, a party would only need about 70,000 votes to win one seat.

Under new charter changes, voters will cast two ballots in the next polls — one for the constituency candidate and one for the party of their choice. The number of constituency MPs rises from 350 to 400 while the number of party-list MPs falls from 150 to 100.