Single-ballot system to stay in new charter

The Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) resolved yesterday to maintain the controversial single-ballot electoral system in the new charter based on strong support from public opinion polls, CDC spokesman Chartchai Na Chiangmai said.

This single-ballot system is also expected to deal with the problem of a large number of void ballots, he said, adding that the Election Commission had complained that there were millions of spoiled ballots under the old system.

More important, the party-list voting system with two ballot papers also left a loophole for political parties to exploit, he said. Betraying the principles of fair election, some parties did not field any constituency candidates and counted only on the party-list ones.

Chartchai said the two types of members of House of Represent-atives served different purposes – the constituency MPs worked closely with the people and the others had to be experts who could help at higher levels. 

Apart from that, he said the single-ballot system would save more than Bt400 million as fewer personnel and less ballot printing would be required. 

Yesterday was the third day of the CDC’s retreat in Phetchaburi’s Cha-am district where the drafters were deliberating on the “National Assembly” chapter. 

Chartchai confirmed that the CDC had stuck to its guns in terms of there being 500 MPs – 350 of whom would be from constituencies and the remainder party-list MPs.

As for senators, the drafters appear to have changed their minds about allowing politicians’ relatives and family members to run for seats in the upper house. The spokesman said they agreed to block parents, spouses and children of political-office holders, including independent agencies’ commissioners, from running for the Senate in a bid to prevent conflict of interest. 

The Senate’s make-up will remain unchanged from the drafter’s original plan, with senators being selected within their social groups in three levels, ranging from district to national. The senators will also only serve a five-year term with no extensions. 

Meanwhile, should more than half of the senators go missing, a reselection process will have to be done within 60 days. 

The drafters also made a decision in relation to the end of senators’ and MP’s terms. Chartchai said the drafters decided that a petition from at least 10 per cent of House members was required to revoke the membership of any MP or senator. Then the case would have to be submitted to the Constitutional Court and, once accepted, the member would have to stop serving and only return if the court found him or her innocent. 

If the person in question is found guilty of malpractice, the court will impose a five-year ban on his or her electoral rights, Chartchai said. 

The membership of a parliamentarian will also come to an end if he or she is absent for a quarter of the parliamentary session, he added. 

Drafters yesterday completed writing at least 75 articles of the new charter, and also resolved to remove unnecessary laws. 

Chartchai said that since Thailand adopted its first economic and social-development plan several decades ago, the role of the state had grown extensively, resulting in the creation of many different laws, some of which have become a burden on both the state and the public. 

Hence the CDC agreed that some of them had to be removed to downsize the government’s responsibilities as well as boost people’s convenience, he said. 

Also, in response to strong criticism, the drafters yesterday agreed to remove a clause on media censorship under emergency decree and martial law. Chartchai said stipulating this in the charter was redundant as the authorities already examine and censor news under emergency decree and martial law. 

Previously, the CDC had agreed to stipulate that articles and reports were subject to censorship during irregular situations, instead of during war as stipulated in previous constitutions.