Stepping forward: MFP aims to rewrite Senate’s role in selecting Thai Prime Minister

The Move Forward Party (MFP) today proposed a revision to Section 272 of the Constitution in order to reduce the power of the Thai Senate and the role of its senators in selecting the Prime Minister of Thailand.

Under Section 272 of the Constitution, senators appointed by the last military-led government have the privilege to sway the PM vote. Section 272 permits Members of Parliament (MPs) and senators, constituting at least half of all members, to propose who becomes PM, which may not necessarily be the man or party who won in the General Election.

Despite winning a General Election, a prime ministerial candidate is not guaranteed to become PM. Opposition parties, led by Pheu Thai Party and MFP, have made several attempts to amend this rule due to its contradictory nature within the democratic process. These efforts, however, have been unsuccessful thus far due to other laws that grant power to the senators.

MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who won the most votes in the General Election, could not become the new PM of Thailand because he did not garner enough votes from MPs and senators. Pita needed 375 and he only received 321 votes.

MFP supporters and members expected the Senate to vote for Pita based on the election results. However, only 13 senators cast their votes in favour of Pita while 34 senators expressed disapproval, and 159 abstained from voting altogether.

The next Parliament meeting to select the new PM is on July 19 but Pita’s chances of securing more votes from MPs and senators seems unlikely. Consequently, the party proposes a revision to Section 272 of the Constitution in order to secure the party’s victory.

MFP Secretary Piyabutr Saengkanokkul made known that the party has 151 MPs to propose a revision of the rule in Parliament according to the law. Members from other parties also agreed to the revision, which could lead to Pita becoming the new PM.

During yesterday’s Parliamentary session, certain MPs and senators made it clear that they would support Pita if he and his party abandoned their intention to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Law, which pertains to offences against the royal family. However, MFP secretary Chaitawat Tulathon firmly asserted that the party would not abandon their pursuit of revising Section 112. He emphasised two key reasons for this stance. Firstly, it is the campaign that the party used to garner votes from people. Secondly, even if the issue of Section 112 was no longer on the table, Chaitawat doubted that the senators and MPs would turn to vote for Pita. Chitawat said…

“What we are thinking now is moving forward on what we stand for. We will do our best to be responsible for the trust that people gave to us. We will never give up as long as all the people continue to fight with us. I believed that all of the eight parties will hold each other hands tightly and move forward together.”