| Purpose of elections |
Senate elections followed the deadlock over the elections to the House of Representatives in February 2014, which were cancelled by the Constitutional Court shortly before the Senate poll (see note 1). Anti-government protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra continued. However, unlike the House elections, the Senate polls were held in relative peace.
The 150-member Senate is officially a non-partisan body. Nevertheless, many candidates reportedly had close ties to the two main political camps the Prime Minister's Pheu Thai party (PP) and the main opposition Democrat Party (DP). Pro-government candidates reportedly took around half of the 77 seats at stake, mainly in the north and northeast of the country, the stronghold of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the elder brother of the prime minister.
Under the 2007 Constitution (Charter), the Senate comprises 77 directly elected members and 73 members indirectly elected by the Senate Selection Commission. On 19 March, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) recommended that Senate President Nikhom Wairatpanich be impeached for his role in the passage of an amendment to the charter regarding the composition of the Senate. The amendment would have re-introduced a 200-member directly-elected Senate, similar to the one existed before the 2006 coup. The proposal was adopted by the House of Representatives in September 2013 but was rejected by the Senate in November and then nullified by the Constitutional Court later the same month.
On 29 April, the Cabinet approved a Royal Decree opening an extraordinary session of the Senate to be held from 2 to 10 May for confirmations of certain constitutional offices. The Senate session was chaired by Deputy Senate Speaker Surachai Liangboonlertchai, an indirectly elected senator.
On 6 May, the Constitutional Court dismissed the Prime Minister from office, ruling that she had abused her power when removing the National Security Council Chief from his post in 2011. Deputy Prime Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan took over as the head of a caretaker government to oversee fresh elections to the House of Representatives. The following day, the NACC decided to recommend Ms. Yingluck's impeachment to the Senate over alleged mishandling of a rice subsidy program. A successful impeachment would deprive her of "political position or rights to work in government service for 5 years" (see note 2).
On 8 May, Mr. Surachai was elected Senate President, defeating Mr. Jongrak Jutanont who was endorsed by the PP camp. The caretaker government questioned the legality of Mr. Surachai's election, stating that the Royal Decree for the extraordinary session did not include the election of the Senate President.
On 20 May, the army declared martial law nationwide to restore order before the King officially appoints Mr. Surachai as Senate President.
On 22 May, Army General Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that the military had taken control of the Government. It established the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). On 24 May, the latter dissolved the Senate, stating that the NCPO had taken over the authority of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. On 26 May, the King endorsed Army General Prayuth Chan-ocha to head the NCPO.
Fresh elections to the House of Representatives, which were expected to be held on 20 July 2014, were cancelled because of the coup. The NCPO stated elections would be held under the new Constitution, the drafting of which would take at least one year.
Note 1:
On 21 March 2014 the Constitutional Court nullified the February 2014 elections to the House of Representatives on the basis of the 2007 Constitution (Charter), which stipulates that the election day must be the same throughout the Kingdom.
Note 2:
Section 274 of the Constitution stipulates "A resolution for the removal of any person from office shall be passed by the votes of not less than three-fifths of the total number of the existing members of the Senate". |
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