Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand's nearly month-long Senate selection process began last week amid accusations that the system is biased in favor of the conservative establishment, and as legal threats against the opposition risk derailing attempts to return to democracy.
After seizing power in a coup in 2014, the Thai military directly appointed 250 people to the upper house in a move seen as an attempt to hinder meaningful political reform as the country returned to a flawed democracy. After last year's election, senators prevented the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) from forming a government, even though it had won the most seats in parliament and the largest share of votes.
However, the Senate's role in electing the prime minister was temporary, as was its direct appointment by the military. A new group of 200 senators is being selected this month from leaders of key industries, in a complicated weeks-long process in which only registered candidates can vote.
Candidates must be over 40 years old, have 10 years of experience in their field, not be a current member of a political party and pay a registration fee of 2,500 baht ($68). Ten candidates will be selected from 20 occupational groups, including government, law, education, arts and culture, and women's affairs. The final round of voting is scheduled for June 26 and the results will be announced on July 2.
“The new group of senators will have two key roles,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor and senior researcher at the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.
“The constitutional change requires a third of the 200 new senators. Equally important is that the new senators will oversee the appointments of the Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Court.”
The current constitution was promulgated by the military in 2017, and calls for it to be amended or repealed have grown in recent years. Meanwhile, rulings by the Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Court have seen pro-democracy candidates and political parties dissolved and banned.
More recently, they have turned their attention to the MFF. The Electoral Commission recommended that the Constitutional Court dissolve the progressive party based on its calls to reform the controversial lese majeste law, which criminalizes criticism of the monarchy. The Constitutional Court is still deliberating and could announce its decision on Tuesday. He previously ruled in January that attempts to reform the MFP amounted to an attempt to overthrow the monarchy.
Thitinan said that, given the Senate's continued importance, it was “being fiercely contested.”
“There will likely be measures by the conservative establishment, including the Electoral Commission, to ensure that the Senate does not end up with enough progressive voices to change the constitution,” he said.
Even the constitutionality of the Senate election has been questioned and the Constitutional Court is expected to issue a verdict on its legality on Tuesday morning.
Ruchapong Chamjirachaikul, a member of the legal advocacy group iLaw, said the process “was neither fair nor democratic” and was intentional.
“The problems you see in the process are a feature, not a bug… many of them are intentional,” he said, adding that the process should not be called “election” but “selection.”
Chamjirachaikul said his team has already received some reports of irregularities, such as former generals registering to represent the agricultural sector, or people being offered 10,000 baht ($270) to register and vote for a specific candidate.
'Contaminated'
In June, a 26-year-old aide to progressive candidate Nongyao Nawarat, a retired professor of sociology at Chiang Mai University, said the “unfair selection system” was designed to prevent young people from participating.
He said the approach showed that the establishment was afraid of younger voters and their demands for reform, and would do whatever it took to block real change. Before the election, progressive activists and candidates activated their grassroots networks, encouraging as many people as possible who were sympathetic to the movement to register as candidates.
“Of course, conservatives do similar things,” June said. “And yet [have] the advantage of spending more money. But I still believe in the power of the people on our side.”
Because of the way the process is structured, it is impossible to counter conservative organizing without encouraging contacts to register with the intention of voting for someone else. But Chamjirachaikul said the progressive strategy needed to be “open and transparent.”
“We have a public event and we ask any candidate to come to this event, the press can be there and they will present themselves openly,” he said. “You have to say what you defend: new constitution, lese majeste amendments, democratic principles, are you against another coup?”
Chamjirachaikul emphasized that candidates had to register, even if they did not expect or even want to win a seat, in order to vote.
“We don't pay anyone, we don't even have money to pay anyone. But if you are over 40, have the money, the time and want to contribute to democracy, you can register and vote for someone who shares the same vision of democracy for Thailand as you do,” he said.
He said the eventual Senate will lack representation and accountability, further tarnishing the body's reputation, already “tainted” by years of acting as a representative of the military.
“When you don't have clear representation, you don't have clear accountability, unlike parliamentarians who would have to face their own constituents, but who are the constituents of these new senators? There is no one,” Chamjirachaikul said.
However, even with the selection issues, Thitinan said the next Senate “will still be more representative of the Thai people compared to the expired 250-member Senate that was elected by the military.”
This is in line with other modest reforms since last year's election, in which the moderate pro-democracy Pheu Thai party formed a coalition government with conservative and military-backed parties.
But Chamjirachaikul said it was worth asking why Thailand needed a Senate. “We as Thais should be able to debate and discuss this openly,” he said. “We've seen enough of the Senate.”
June said that regardless of what the establishment did to stem the tide, young activists would continue to fight for change.
“We are the new generation. We will do whatever it takes to improve this country. It may not happen in a single session or in a single night. But this will change gradually.”
