Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand’s nearly month-long Senate selection process began last week, amid accusations that the system is biased in favor of the conservative establishment and as legal threats against the The opposition risks derailing attempts to return to democracy.
After seizing power in a 2014 coup, Thailand’s military directly appointed 250 people to the upper house, a move seen as an attempt to prevent meaningful political reform as the country returned to a imperfect democracy. After last year’s elections, senators blocked the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) to form a government, even though it had won the largest number of seats in Parliament and the largest share of the vote.
The Senate’s role in choosing the prime minister was, however, temporary, as was its direct appointment by the military. This month, a new group of 200 senators is selected from key industry executives, in a complicated, weeks-long process in which only registered candidates are allowed to vote.
Applicants must be over 40 years old, have 10 years of experience in their field, not currently be members of a political party and pay an application fee of 2,500 baht ($68). Ten candidates will be selected from 20 professional groups, including government, law, education, arts and culture, and women’s affairs. The final round of voting is scheduled for June 26 and the results will be announced on July 2.
“The new group of senators will have two key roles,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor and senior researcher at the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
“Constitutional change requires a third of the 200 new senators. Just as importantly, the new senators will oversee appointments to the Election Commission and the Constitutional Court.
THE current constitution was enacted by the military in 2017, and calls for its modification or abolition have increased in recent years. Meanwhile, decisions by the Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Court have led to the dissolution and dissolution of pro-democracy candidates and political parties. banned.
More recently, they have turned their attention to MFP. The Electoral Commission has recommended that the Constitutional Court dissolve the Progressive Party based on its calls to reform the controversial lèse-majesté law, which criminalizes criticism of the monarchy. The Constitutional Court is still deliberating and could announce its decision on Tuesday. He previously governed in January, attempts to reform the MFP amounted to an attempt to overthrow the monarchy.
Thitinan said that given the continued importance of the Senate, it was “fiercely contested.”
“The conservative establishment, including the Election Commission, will likely take steps to ensure that the Senate does not end up with enough progressive votes to amend the constitution,” he said.
Even the constitutionality of Senate selection has been contested, and the Constitutional Court is expected to issue a verdict on its legality on Tuesday morning.
Ruchapong Chamjirachaikul, a member of the legal advocacy group iLaw, said the process was “neither fair nor democratic” and that it was intentional.
“The problems you see in the process are a feature and not a bug…many of them are intentional,” he said, adding that the process should not be called an “election” but “an election.” selection”.
Chamjirachaikul said his team had already received reports of irregularities, such as former generals registering to represent the agricultural sector, or people being offered 10,000 baht ($270) to register and vote for a specific candidate.
‘Tainted’
June, 26, an aide to progressive candidate Nongyao Nawarat, a retired professor of sociology at Chiang Mai University, said the “unfair selection system” was designed to prevent young people from participating.
She said this approach showed the establishment was afraid of young voters and their demands for reform, and would do whatever it took to block real change. Before the election, progressive activists and candidates activated their grassroots networks, encouraging as many people as possible who sympathized with the movement to register as candidates.
“Of course conservatives do similar things,” June said. “And they (have) always the advantage of spending more money. But I always believe in the power of people alongside us.
Because of the way the process is structured, it is impossible to counter conservative organizing without encouraging contacts to register with the intention of voting for someone else. But Chamjirachaikul said the progressive strategy must be “open and transparent”.
“We are holding a public event and asking all candidates to come to this event, the press is allowed to be there and they will present themselves openly,” he said. “You have to say what you stand for – a new constitution, a lese majeste amendment, democratic principles, are you against another coup?
Chamjirachaikul stressed that candidates must register, even if they do not expect or even want to win a seat, in order to vote.
“We don’t pay anyone, we don’t even have the money to pay anyone. But if you are over 40, have money, time and want to contribute to democracy, you can register and vote for someone who shares the same vision of democracy for Thailand as you do,” said he declared.
He said the eventual Senate would lack representation and accountability, further tarnishing the body’s reputation, already “tainted” by years of acting as a proxy for the military.
“When you don’t have clear representation, you don’t have clear accountability, unlike MPs who should be faced with their own constituencies, but who are the constituencies of these new senators? There is no one,” Chamjirachaikul said.
However, even with the selection issues, Thitinan said the next Senate would be “still more representative of the Thai people compared to the expired 250-member Senate that was chosen by the military.”
This is in line with other modest reforms since last year’s elections, which saw the Pheu Thai Party, a moderate pro-democracy party, form a coalition government with conservative and military-backed parties.
But Chamjirachaikul said it was worth asking why Thailand needed a Senate. “As Thais, we should be able to debate and discuss this topic openly,” he said. “We’ve seen enough from the Senate.”
June said that whatever steps the establishment took to stem the tide, young activists would continue to fight for change.
“We are the new generation. We will do whatever it takes to improve this country. This cannot happen in one session or in one night. But this will change little by little. »
