THAILAND'S OTHER ELECTION: SENATE ELECTIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002156 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV TH SUBJECT: THAILAND'S OTHER ELECTION: SENATE ELECTIONS APPROACH AS THAILAND GIRDS FOR MORE LOWER HOUSE POLLS REF: BANGKOK 2088 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Elections for Thailand's 200 Senate seats are scheduled to be held on April 19. The nominally non-political Senate body was last elected in 2000. Its members cannot succeed themselves at the end of their six year term. Though strict, (and in some cases bewildering) guidelines claim to ensure the non-political status of the body, reality is something else. The outgoing Senate was accused by Thaksin's critics of being heavily influenced by the Prime Minister and his party. The slate of candidates running for the new Senate appears to contain many contenders with connections to political parties and suggests that the institution will remain subject to political pressures. This Senate election is being held amidst the current lower house election imbroglio. While it has no active part in the constitutional reform process, the body will at least nominally retain a role in approving the final agreement. End summary. WHAT'S AT STAKE ¶2. (U) On April 19, Thai voters will choose 200 Senators from among some 1,400 candidates nationwide. Each province is regarded as one constituency and awarded Senate seats proportional to population. In cases where a province has more than one senatorial seat, the candidates who receive the highest number of votes in respective order will be elected as Senators up to the seats available. RULES TO ASSURE "QUALITY AND NEUTRALITY" ¶3. (U) The framers of the 1997 Constitution conceived the Senate as a "non-political" body of well-qualified, well- regarded citizens, who would be elected to only one six-year term and act as a non-partisan watchdog over the "political" lower house of Parliament. To ensure a pool of "quality" candidates, this meant a strict and sometimes bewildering set of rules on candidates qualifications and campaign rules. Contenders must, for example, be over 40, hold a bachelors degree or equivalent and be registered in the province they stand for election in for not less than one year before applying for candidacy. ¶4. (U) On the other hand, candidates cannot be a member of a political party, a Senator in the preceding term, an MP less than a year before announcing candidacy, bankrupt, be under criminal court proceedings, having been sentenced by the court to imprisonment of two years or more, except for an offense committed through negligence; have been ordered by the court to have his/her assets confiscated on the ground of unusual wealth, be a government official holding a permanent position; be a member of a local assembly or a local administrator; be an official or employee of a State agency, State enterprise or local government organization, or other State official; be an Election Commissioner, an Ombudsman, a member of the National Human Right Commission, a judge of the Constitutional Court, a judge of an Administrative Court, a member of the National Counter Corruption Commission or a member of the State Audit Commission; or have been removed from office by the resolution of the Senate under Section 307 of the Constitution with in the past 5 years as to the election day. A "NON-PARTISAN CAMPAIGN" ¶5. (SBU) To ensure the neutrality of a senator, the election law stipulates that political parties cannot assist or support senatorial candidates directly or indirectly. The spirit of the law is that senatorial candidates should be a person already widely known in each province for their works and qualifications. Candidates' introduction are arranged by the Election Commission, and includes sending bio-data of candidates to every household, organizing "candidates meet the people" events in public places, setting up posters and the allocation of TV and radio air time. In their public statements candidates cannot even promise what they would do if elected (though most voters here would assert that a promise by a candidate for office is far from relevant anyway). Loud-speakers cannot be not be used by senatorial candidates to introduce themselves. The distribution of self-introduction flyers or pamphlets cannot be made in public areas. POWERS OF THE BODY ¶6. (U) The Senate has rights to, among other things, reconsideration of a bill objected to by the King; approval of the early prorogation of Parliament session; drafting of the rules of procedure for the joint sitting; approval of treaties made with foreign countries. and to scrutinize draft laws that have passed the House of Representatives ¶7. (U) One of the Senate's more significant (and abused say its critics) powers is in its role in vetting some or in many cases all nominees for the "independent bodies" such as the Election Commission, Ombudsmen, National Human Rights Commission, Constitutional Court, Commission of Court of Justice, Administrative Court (including a Court member who will take the chairmanship of the Administrative Court and nominees for Administrative Court Commission),National Counter-Corruption Commission (including the NCCC Secretary-General),and Auditor-General Commission. The SIPDIS Senate's selections are forwarded to the King for his approval (or disapproval). (Note: This has been a major point of the Senate's critics however. Much of the wave of sentiment for political reform comes, critics say, from the Senate's role in helping Thaksin subvert the governance process by putting his cronies into these so-called watchdog bodies.) (See reftel.) ¶8. (U) Another key function of the Senate is its potential (and to date very rarely used) role in the impeachment process. The Senate is able to initiate this process at the request of one fourth of the lower house, or through the petition (certified signatures) of 50,000 persons. The Senate takes up impeachment hearings after first referring the case to the National Counter Corruption Commission for investigation and decision. Three fifths of the Senate can impeach a person from his position, and the Senate's decision is final. The Senate is empowered to impeach the Prime Minister, ministers, members of the House of Representatives, members of the Senate, President of the Supreme Court of Justice, President of the Constitutional Court, President of the Supreme Administrative Court, the Attorney-General, members of Election Commission, Ombudsmen, Constitutional Court tribunals, members of the Auditor-General, judges or tribunals, State Attorney, and high ranking officials in National Counter-Corruption Commission if they are found involved in corrupt practices. BUT NON-POLITICAL SENATE - WHO BELIEVES THIS? ¶9. (SBU) The outgoing Senate, elected under these rules, nonetheless was widely criticized as being to a significant degree under the influence of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party and to a lesser degree the main opposition Democrat Party (DP). There have been repeated allegations that the ruling party paid off Senators to win their support. Critics accused the previous Senate of being faction-ridden and acting more as an enabler for Thaksin's alleged packing of the independent bodies than as a watchdog institution. The candidate list for this Senate suggests that this accusation will continue. A perusal of the slates reveals numerous candidates throughout the country who are either spouses or siblings of MPs from the TRT or DP, ex- ministers from both parties (as well as the opposition Chart Thai Party),ex-MPs, or simply known strong supporters of political parties. While the concept may have been good, observers here say, the reality of politics, personal connections and family ties all militate against the idea. OVERSHADOWED BY LOWER HOUSE RERUN ELECTIONS ¶10. (SBU) Comment: The Senate poll is being overshadowed by the current political imbroglio. Considerably more public attention is being paid to the 40 lower house seats being rerun on April 23. Because the Senate cannot propose amendments under the current Constitution, it does not have a proactive role in the upcoming political reform process. Its major act in the program will probably be to give pro-forma approval to whatever the lower house or constitutional drafting committee approves and sends up. BOYCE