Senators' powers to be restrained in March transition
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Appointed senators will be prohibited from removing or appointing individuals during the transition period at the end of the elected senators' term next March.
The parliamentary ad-hoc committee considering Constitution amendment Wednesday discussed laws related to the sources and mandate of senators.
According to the new draft, an election must be held to replace any vacant senatorial seat within 45 days. Meanwhile, provision will allow the current senators, who gained the seats before the charter amendment, to stay until the end of their terms.
However, when the elected senators are at the end of their term on March 2, it will take some time before new senators are elected. There will be only 75 appointed senators in position and they would not be allowed to join in any impeachment or appointment process.
“The transition period might be short, but if there was a protest calling for impeachment against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra proposed to the Senate, the (remaining) senators might consider removing her,” Pheu Thai MP Sunai Julpongsatorn said.
The majority of the ad hoc committee earlier agreed that a total of 200 senators should be created from the election. And unlike the current law, family members of political office holders are allowed to run in the election.
