Are Thai Senators Pursuing The Right Course?

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Are senators pursuing the right course?

By Tulsathit Taptim

Nobody has spoken of it in terms of a "crisis" yet, but Democrat MP Pichet Panvichartkul has warned that the issue of appointed senators nearing the end of their term could become some sort of a glitch that might wreak havoc on our election-year schedules.

In an article published by Naew Na, Pichet raised the possibility of mass resignation by the appointed senators who want to be re-appointed into the upper House. According to the Constitution, these senators can't stay until their term expires, because that would make them stay as "acting" senators until replacements come in.

"Acting" senators will unlikely be eligible for a new appointed term, Pichet pointed out, as candidates for the Senate's appointed slot cannot be someone getting a state salary. As acting senators are still classified as people who get a state salary, the appointed incumbents who want to return to the upper House would rather play safe by resigning now.

The Senate constitutionally comprises 76 elected members and 74 appointees. The charter says the Senate can continue functioning if the overall number falls below 150, but by not more than 5 per cent. In other words, if seven senators resign, the Senate can still function, but if eight quit, there need to be a by-election before the upper House can do anything.

"If the Senate can't work, neither can Parliament essentially," Pichet wrote. Standing to be affected is, of course, the constitutional amendment process, which is jointly deliberated on by both Houses and is a crucial indicator of how soon Thailand can have a general election.

If eight or more senators resign, presumably just before the mandatory expiration of their term on February 18, the Constitution will require new senators to come in within 180 days. The real selection process to "re-fill" the Senate can be much shorter, but the charter amendment will be held up anyway. And since Thailand's political direction depends much on charter amendment, the issue of retiring (but wanting to come back) senators may become very important in the next few days.

The last time we checked, more than 60 appointed senators were likely to resign to make themselves eligible for reappointment. That certainly would immobilise the upper House and everything it is involved in.

Some legal experts have insisted that "acting" or "caretaker" senators were qualified for reappointment. That would solve many problems if the Constitution Court endorses this. However, unless there is a foolproof guarantee, nobody would want to risk a major crisis by allowing caretaker senators to return to serve in the upper House.

That's just the "legal" part of the issue. The "moral" aspect of it has not been much discussed. What can we say about the 60-plus senators if they really resign just to get re-appointed at the expense of Thailand's already fragile efforts to return to normalcy?

If we ask why they need to resign and get re-appointed, they all will toe the same line - they think they can still "serve" the country. People defending the possible resignations of the appointed senators have also called for an "open mind". The argument is that those in a political position must be entitled to do anything under the law in order to make themselves available for the system to select them again.

A reply to that is the reappointment of appointed senators is only allowed under a provisional clause in the charter. (Only the "first set" of appointed senators are constitutionally allowed to repeat their terms.) And it's fair to say that the provisional clause was not written with the current Thai political situation in view.

Again, it's "what we can do" versus "what we should do". A story of our politics, isn't it?

-- The Nation 2011-01-14

[SomTumTiger]

Everyone who resigns should be disqualified from being reappointed - imo

[asiawatcher]

Everyone who resigns should be disqualified from being reappointed - imo

I would agree with that - if they don't want to serve the country at the time of their appointment or fulfill their term, then don't allow them back in. But then the other issues, the Thai system makes them resign to be able to stand for re-election. Go figure. This is Thailand.

[khaowong1]

The only course that Thai senators appear to be taking, is the course that lines their pockets.. at least this is my opinion.

[housepainter]

No.

Next.

[mkawish]

The only course that Thai senators appear to be taking, is the course that lines their pockets.. at least this is my opinion.

You are so acutely perceptive.

It is a very sad story that the traitors to Thailand are the leaders themselves.... barring only a few....

[Bagwan]

No.

Next.

I came to the same conclusion - and I couldn't be bothered to read the report.

[Valentine]

I wonder how many politicians actually run for office to truly serve the people without any other ulterior motive?