Senators battle over election amendment

He said this selection method would be similar to that created under the 2007 Constitution and would help to ensure a balance of power.

Uttaradit Senator Narumon Siriwat supported the amendment, saying it would reduce any monopoly of power. She dismissed criticism that the amendment would bring rampant nepotism because elected Senators would need support from local politicians to get elected. She countered that candidates need support from independent agencies to get elected.

Kamphaeng Phet Senator Krich Atitkaew dismissed concern that having all 200 Senators elected would lead to overlapping electoral areas with MPs. "We have to share our duties. If a house has five people in it, not all five have the duty to mop the floor,’’ he said.

Government MPs dismissed the Law Reform Commission of Thailand (LRCT) report, which said getting senators elected could be in violation of the 2007 Constitution, saying it was just personal opinion.

At the second reading on the amendment of Articles involving senatorial selection, opposition chief whip Jurin Laksanawisit raised LRCT chairman Kanit na Nakorn’s statement that the amendment could be deemed unconstitutional and asked how the Parliament was going to resolve this.

Senate Speaker Nikom Wairatpanij, speaking as deputy Parliament president, said he had accepted Kanit’s statement and believed it was useful. He also distributed copies of it in Parliament.

However, Pheu Thai MP for Chiang Rai Samart Kaewmeechai put the statement down to just being Kanit’s personal opinion.

After 40 minutes of discussion on the issue, Nikom moved to deliberate the amendment without resolving the issue of whether the amendment could be considered unconstitutional.

After being criticised for failing to attend parliamentary meetings, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra showed up in Parliament yesterday and chose to sit next to her sister Yaowapha Wongsawat alongside the rest of the Pheu Thai MPs.