CDC decides to keep mixed Senate composition

Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) spokesman Gen Lertrat Ratanavanich said the 200 senators under the new charter draft would be made up of 77 directly elected by the voters, or one senator per province, and the remaining 123 would be selected through a selection committee.

But, the CDC said in a provisional clause that the first set of 200 senators must be endorsed within 150 days of the constitution taking effect and their term would last only three years, he said. 

The Election Commission would hold a ballot for the 77 elected senators, while the other 123 would be selected by the government, he said. 

The government would set up a selection committee to choose the senators, Lertrat said.

The provisional clause also stipulated that after the first set of senators completes their three-year term, a new set of senators would be elected and selected through a selection panel and would remain for six years. The first set of senators would be qualified to take a seat in the following Senate. 

Meanwhile, a group of 200 citizens calling themselves the “Network of Subjects of the Monarchy” submitted a letter to the Constitution Drafting Committee calling for the 200 members of the Senate to be selected by His Majesty the King and 100 by various professional groups. The group wanted to explain the idea to the CDC, but were prevented from doing so.