New Constitution grants Too Much Power To The Senate

BANGKOK: -- A PARTICIPANT at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand's forum on "The Future of Thai Politics" last week raised an important point - that the all-appointed Senate under the new charter will have far too much influence.

The participant also noted that this is something National Reform Council (NRC) members remember when scrutinising the charter provisions, and Thai citizens should keep in mind when voting in a referendum.

Capacity to influence the choice of Cabinet members is one of many powers the new Senate will have. The charter's Provision 132 will give senators the power to dig into the background of Cabinet candidates and publicise their findings.

This implies that the Senate can tell the prime minister exactly which individuals they deem eligible, or not, for a minister's post, and possibly refuse to cooperate during legislative procedures if the PM ignores their "recommendations".

The notion that appointed senators have the authority to scrutinise and publicise ministerial candidates' profiles may seem absurd, but in reality it could manifest into something worse.

With this power in their hands, the Senate could force the prime minister to the negotiating table, and allow senators to handpick preferred candidates for certain ministerial seats in exchange for approving the PM's preferred nominees.

Obviously there will be a lot of wheeling and dealing behind the scenes before a cabinet satisfactory to both parties can be formed. But this wheeling and dealing can be a bit worrying, because not only will it damage the effectiveness of an elected government, it would also shift significant executive power to the privileged few from the upper-middle class and the elite who form the Senate.

As per the new charter, senators will be nominated from "five social groups", which could include former premiers, former House speakers, former Supreme Court presidents, former ministry permanent secretaries, former generals or supreme commanders, presidents of different professional associations or organisations, and academics. Nearly every member of these social groups hail from the upper-middle class based mainly in the capital.

Clearly, the framework to select the Senate does not connect in any way to the grassroots in rural Thailand because, as the charter drafters argue, senators cannot have the same electoral canvassers and support base as MPs in the House of Representatives.

The new charter will also give the Senate the power to propose bills.

With this, new senators will be able to negotiate with MPs, forcing them into "give-and-take" deals. Hence, not only will the new Senate have the power to influence the selection of ministers, it will also have the power to pursue its own legislative agenda.

Also, as all senators will be appointed from the pool of society's power players, they will have no fear of playing a game of legislative stalemate, in which they can force the PM to dissolve parliament. After all, "appointed" senators have very little to lose because unlike lower House MPs, they will have invested nothing in terms of energy, effort or funds on wooing voters.

An appointed Senate under the new charter will have an upper hand both in the executive branch as well as the Lower House - a point that needs to be closely reviewed by all stakeholders especially the NRC and the public.