Prawit: Nothing wrong for junta to sit in appointed Senate
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Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan who floated the controversial idea of fully-appointed Senate said Wednesday that there is nothing wrong for members of the junta to sit in such a powerful chamber.
Prawit invited a lot of criticisms by proposing that all 200 senators of the first Senate should be selected by a selection panel to be appointed by junta. He also proposed that the first interim Senate should be in office for five years to ensure implementation of reforms and national strategies.
“Probably. Why not? Why would it be wrong when the NCPO [National Council for Peace and Order] understands this well,” Prawit said when a reporter asked if NCPO members would seek to sit in the first appointed Senate.
Critics said the NCPO or the coup maker would seek to control the future governments via the appointed Senate.
Prawit insisted that it was his own idea to propose that the first Senate of “selected” senators should be in office for five years during the transitional period.
He said it would be fine if the Constitution Drafting Commission changes the draft to require that senators come from selection by the selection panel all the time.
So far, the CDC headed by Meechai Ruchuphan has not responded to Prawit’s proposal.
