Senators may lose power to impeach politicians
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CDC considers taking away this authority in bid to end Parliament's 'Spouse House'
CONSTITUTION drafters are eyeing the option of stripping senators of the power to impeach political office holders, so voters do not voice dissatisfaction if the commission resolves not to have elected senators, commission spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni said.
The proposal, he said, comes as part of the Constitution Draft-ing Commission (CDC)’s move to tackle the problem of the so-called “spouse” Parlia-ment, in which politicians have relatives or friends become senators to protect their interests.
In principle, the Senate should be independent of the political sector, and senators should not be affiliated to any political party or influenced by them, the CDC spokesman said.
But he said it had been common to see a “spouse” Parliament in the Upper House in the past, so it was time to find ways to counter that.
While agreeing to cut the Senate’s capacity to impeach would discourage politicians from having family members join Parliament, Norachit pointed out that there were other matters of concern.
For instance, the Upper House would still play a role in approving budgets and laws, he said. Senators would also be responsible for the selection, control and scrutiny of independent organisations and their agents, he added, noting that all these issues were of interest to politicians.
Asked how senators should be recruited to ensure the Senate was clear from political influence, Norachit responded with a question, asking, “Do you think it would reduce or increase the chance [of the Senate being under political influence] if senators were elected?”
However, he said, the CDC has yet to agree on this point.
Meanwhile, the subcommittee studying legislative branch structures has presented a report on recruitment of senators, Norachit said. Former Election Commissioner Prapan Naikovit leads this panel.
The spokesman said the drafters were looking at three possible options for senators – election, selection and a mixture of both.
Under the 2007 Constitution, the Senate was made up of both elected and selected senators.
The CDC has also considered some other methods of recruiting senators – methods that have not been used anywhere else, he said, adding jokingly that they had considered drawing lots or getting voters to cast a ballot on “unfavourable” Senate candidates.
‘Don’t listen to rumours’
Apart from that, the spokesman also said that whatever has been leaked or spread via the LINE app or other social-media sites in relation to the recruitment of senators was false.
He noted that the commission has yet to reach any conclusion on the issue.
In a related development, the drafting commission’s subcommittee tasked with gathering opinions on the new charter draft will meet with representatives from different sectors tomorrow to listen to their comments. Among them are the press, women’s rights organisations, businesses and environmental groups.
