66 Thai army generals make senators list

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand approved a list of 250 senators to parliament that includes 66 Royal Army generals, the Bangkok Post reported Tuesday.

The selection of senators is important to elect the prime minister of Thailand which has been under military rule since a 2014 military coup.

The parliament of the Buddhist-majority country will convene May 22, the fifth anniversary of the coup, where lawmakers will elect respective speakers and vote to elect the prime minister.

“More than a third of the newly appointed senators have military or police backgrounds, a sign the upper house will probably vote to entrench army dominance of government five years after a military coup,” the newspaper said.

The appointment of senators to a five-year term was done last Saturday, more than a month after Thailand held civilian elections March 24.

The ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), a military formation to run civilian government affairs, changed Constitution in 2017 making it mandatory for senators to vote in electing the prime minister.

Under previous laws of the constitutional monarchy, the lower house alone voted for the prime minister.

Preliminary results from March 24 showed the anti-military alliance making headway in the 500-seat lower house. But the role of senators has become more important in deciding whether incumbent military-appointed Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha will serve a second term.

“The two houses will choose the prime minister and it requires 376 votes out of 750 members to become prime minister,” the newspaper said.

The Bangkok Post said Prayut needed just 126 votes to retain his post.

Opposition Pheu Thai Party won most of the 350 seats up for grabs. The term of elected representatives is four years.

Party leaders said it formed an alliance with the Future Forward, Seri Ruam Thai, Prachachart, Puea Chat, New Economics and Thai People Power parties to form the next government.