Nearly 2,000 acquire Senate election application forms on first day

The Election Commission (EC) reported yesterday that nearly 2,000 individuals acquired application forms for the Senate election on the first day of distribution, which was on May 10. The documents and forms can be collected daily from district offices and provincial registration centres nationwide, between the hours of 8.30am and 4.30pm.

Completed forms and necessary documents can be submitted at specified locations once applications have been officially opened.

On the first day of distribution, the EC distributed application forms to 1,933 individuals. Officials have to provide comprehensive guidance to prospective candidates to confirm their eligibility for the election.

To qualify, candidates must have resided in their selected district for a minimum of two years, possess knowledge and experience in their chosen fields, and apply for candidacy in only one professional group.

Rapipong Jirapattanlak, the director of the Nakhon Ratchasima election office, disclosed that the office will hold a meeting for candidates on May 19 to clarify the guidelines. The EC has received criticism regarding campaign regulations that restrict candidates to self-introduction via an A4 poster, which cannot be made public, and prohibit them from giving media interviews.

The Senate election was called to succeed 250 senators installed by the now-dissolved National Council for Peace and Order, whose term ended on May 10.

Senate election

A royal decree, granted by His Majesty the King and signed by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, was published in the Royal Gazette yesterday. The decree was issued following Sections 107 and 175 of the constitution. The EC chairman has been authorised to enforce the decree.

As per the 2017 charter, the new Senate will have 200 members from 20 professions and will not be directly elected by the public. Instead, applicants will vote within their ranks in three stages: district, provincial, and national.

With the royal decree in effect, the EC is projected to announce the application period from May 20 to May 26, with elections to be held on June 9, June 16, and June 26 at the district, provincial, and national levels, respectively.

The Senate race is anticipated to attract roughly 100,000 applicants. This figure is expected to be shortlisted to 55,680 individuals after the district-level voting, which equates to the three highest-voted candidates in each professional group across all 928 districts.

After the second round of voting at the provincial level, this number will be further reduced to 3,080, which means two leading candidates from each professional group in all 77 provinces, reported Bangkok Post.

In the final national level election, the 200 senators, or the top 10 candidates with the most votes in the 20 groups, will be selected. The results are expected to be announced on July 2, alongside a reserve list of five candidates from each group.