Senatorial election underway in Thailand without the military
District and provincial delegates voted today in the Thai capital. But the future of the government is uncertain because of lawsuits by outgoing senators against Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra remains a point of reference for the governing party, despite his indictment for lèse-majesté.
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Bangkok (AsiaNews) - In Bangkok, delegates chosen at the district and provincial level voted today to designate members of the Senate, according to a law with a complex electoral mechanism that replaces the outgoing military-appointed senate.
Today's was the third and final round of a process that began on 9 June with a district vote, followed by a provincial vote. Some 2,989 candidates entered the national-level election to represent 20 professional groups to fill the new, 200-seat senate.
The Armed Forces had already decided to scrap the transitional senate they set up following their coup in May 2014. In 2019, they adopted plans to give direct political control to an elected National Assembly and to the Senate. However, the Upper House would have special features.
The Senate, with its veto power, has prevented reformists from taking power following last year’s election.
Over the past few weeks, some reports claim interference in district and provincial-level voting, noting that traditional elites, which wield considerable economic power, will gain a strong presence in the senate.
For the first time in the country’s recent troubled history, the military will not be directly present in parliament, even if the pro-military Palang Pracharath party is part of the ruling coalition in the National Assembly led by its historic rival, the Pheu Thai.
After the senate election, a showdown within the majority is possible, some observers suggest, to further marginalise the military from public life.
Some court decisions expected in July are an unknown factor that must be considered. One involves a complaint by some outgoing senators against alleged ethical violations by current Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai party; the other seeks the dissolution of Future Forward, the party that won the May 2023 elections but was later prevented from taking power.
The current parliamentary majority is the product of a strategic deal that does not reflect voters’ choices, and risks implosion, partly because of actions by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
After returning from voluntary exile almost a year ago, he was briefly imprisoned, then released and is now waiting trial for lèse-majesté, but remains the main reference point of Pheu Thai, which is currently led by his daughter, Paetongtarn.
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