THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

MPs told to vacate House seats if appointed to political positions

MPs told to vacate House seats if appointed to political positions

MPs will not be allowed to concurrently hold political posts in the government as this violates the constitution, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said.

Wissanu said he has consulted with the Council of State and that he and the Council, which serves as the government’s advisory board, agreed that MPs cannot concurrently hold political positions in the government as it would lead to conflicts of interest and also violate Article 184 of the charter.

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Article 184 prohibits MPs from holding posts in government agencies and state enterprises.

However, MPs can hold Cabinet seats because an exemption is provided in Article 163.

Article 163 states that “A Minister has the right to attend and give statements of facts or opinions at a sitting of the House but has no right to vote, except in the case of [voting in] the House of Representatives where such Minister is also a Member of the House of Representatives. The privileges provided in section 124 shall apply mutatis mutandis.”

Phalang Pracharat party-list MP Naruemol Pinyosinwan has vacated her House seat after being informed by the Cabinet Secretariat she would be appointed as the government spokeswoman.

A Phalang Pracharat source said all coalition partners had been informed of the ban on MPs holding political posts.
For the political posts under the Phalang Pracharat’s quota, the party would give priority to party’s failed candidates who earned a lot of votes.

The source said Cabinet members of the party would also be allowed to select their own staff and each group of MPs would also be permitted to nominate its candidates for the political posts.

The political posts of the Phalang Pracharat would be allocated to all regions to reduce internal conflicts, the source added.

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