Vast majority of poll respondents oppose ministers and NCPO members joining Senate

ThaigerPublished: 09:08, 13 May 2019| Updated: 09:08, 13 May 2019

243 1 minute read

Vast majority of poll respondents oppose ministers and NCPO members joining Senate — Secretary-General Charoongwit Poomma, left, and Deputy Secretary-General of Election Commission Nut Laosisavaku take questions during a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March. 25, 2019. Thailand's Election Commission said it will announce the results of 350 constituency seats on Monday but full vote counts, which are needed to determine the allocation of 150 other seats in the House of Representatives, won't be available until Friday. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

PHOTO: Trying to explain the unexplainable

Most Thais are unhappy with the party-list seat announcements and the perceived nepotism in the selection of parliamentary Senate members.

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A majority of respondents in a Suan Dusit Poll disagree with the ‘formula’ used to calculate party-list seats and with cabinet ministers and members of the military junta taking up new roles in the Senate.

On the EC’s endorsement of party-list MPs, 75.4% of the respondents say they disagreed with it, reasoning that many sides believe the method used by the EC to calculate the party-list MPs was unfair to many parties and gave little value to the voice of the majority.

The Suan Dusit Poll gauged the opinions of 1,187 people nationwide between May 7–11 regarding the EC’s endorsement of 149 party-list MPs and 349 constituency MPs, as well as the resignation of 15 cabinet ministers and others ahead of the announcement of the full list of 250 senators.

The poll shows 83.2% oppose the resignations, in order to clear the way to become senators, because they don’t want the ministers to be used to prop up the stability of a Palang Pracharat-led coalition government.

85% of the respondents also disagree with junta members joining the Senate for the same reason.