CDC open to outsider PM

Thailand’s new charter will not provide for an elected prime minister, as the Constitution Drafting Committee decided yesterday to allow Parliament to select anyone as the head of government, CDC spokesman Kamnoon Sidhisamarn said. 

The House of Representatives was authorised to propose the name of the prime minister for approval of His Majesty the King in accordance with the norms and traditions of Thai politics, he said. The two previous constitutions – 1997 and 2007 – allowed only an elected member of the lower house to be the prime minister. 

Many coup-sponsored charters such as those in 1978 and 1991 opened chances for non-MPs, mostly retired military officers, to head the government. 

Kamnoon said the drafters were not writing the charter to perpetuate the continuance in power of junta chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha after the next election. “It is logical that the elected MPs, who have responsibility towards their voters, must think carefully about the person they choose to become the prime minister,” he said.

“By the book, a non-MP can be the PM, but we believe that elected MPs who are members of major parties would not propose anyone outside the House of Representatives to head their government,” he said.

“But the committee is aware of the fact that in case of a political crisis, like the situation before the May 22 coup, the country might need a non-MP to be the prime minister,” he said.

The eligibility for the prime minister’s post has been a sensitive issue in Thai politics for decades. 

A bloody uprising in May 1992 was ignited by the fact that elected political parties brought in junta leader Suchinda Kraprayoon, who had earlier staged a coup to topple an elected PM, to head the government. 

However, many Bangkok street protesters opposed to the previous government of Yingluck Shinawatra – who have since been appointed by the junta as members of the CDC and the National Reform Council – had called for a non-MP to take over from Yingluck even though the previous constitution had no such provision.

Kamnoon said that although the majority in the CDC agreed on the idea of allowing a non-MP prime minister, there were chances the clause on fixing the eligibility of the PM would be changed when the drafters begin writing the charter, if the National Reform Council and the public disagreed.

The CDC also reached a resolution yesterday on Senate membership. There would be maximum of 200 senators from five groups, Kamnoon said.

The first group is former heads of executive, legislative and judicial branches. The second is former senior officials such as ministry permanent secretaries and military commanders. The third group is chiefs of professional associations such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Medical Council of Thailand. The fourth is representatives of registered civil groups such as labour unions and agriculture cooperatives. The last group comprises members selected from professional groups who obtain endorsement from the people. 

The senators must not be members of any political parties, he said. 

It is unclear who would be authorised to pick the senators.

Though unelected, the Senate will be a powerful body than can propose laws, scrutinise the qualifications of cabinet members appointed by the prime minister, and impeach the PM, ministers, senior officials, and MPs, according to Kamnoon. The CDC has not yet decided on the term of the Senate. 

A proposal suggested that the senators should be in the position only for three years, while the previous constitution allowed the senators to hold their positions for six years.