![Eyes turn to the Upper House](https://static.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20240330/c1_2767903_240330081146.jpg)
What steps may be put in place to prevent the upcoming Senate election from ending like a second general election is on the minds of most experts?
The expected poll results in July will mark the next time a Senate has been thoroughly elected.
The new team of legislators will need to be withdrawn from elections if a training can be drawn from the first Senate election, which took place in 1997. But, elections and political connections are part and parcel, and to refuse one of the other may only be hopeful wondering, according to observers.
The spectators argued that the Senate has the responsibility to be a “minder” in a parliamentary parliament where only women’s reps, or MPs, are directly elected to office.
Upper House people, on the other hand, have no business dividing the job of MPs. Their responsibility is to use their individual expertise to evaluating legislation.
Votes, however, are not suitable to selecting certain experts to stay in the room. To set the proportions of persons from professional areas, such as law and political science, a collection technique works better for picking senators, according to the observers.
The 1997 Senate election which produced 200 people, while having been hailed as the most democratic way to find Upper House inhabitants, was not without a critical flaw.
Due to the widespread criticism of the vote as a “bedfellow” battle, which saw several families or relatives of then-seated MPs win Senate seats thanks to the enormous support they benefited from in constituencies dominated by their families.
In the 1997 vote, legislators represented the regions where local officials and political elites exerted their supremacy. The legislature witnessed some close family members obtaining tickets on either side of the chambers, despite the senators ‘ restrictions on having political party relationships.
The Senate was criticized for having had relations to MPs and officials who had come under the influence of them. Senators ‘ democracy was thrown out of the windows, according to the spectators.
Following a revolt d’etat or alternative constitutions, selectors entrusted with the task were largely appointed by selectors entrusted with the work.
Fast- forward to the current. The incumbent senators did leave their positions in early May, bringing the last vestiges of the conservative camp to a close, after being accused of tampering with the NCPO’s hold on the previous administration.
Critics had strong reservations about returning to a wholly elected Senate, fearing a duplicate of the weak system that stifled the 1997 upper chamber’s election and shattered the senators ‘ ostensible fairness in carrying out their parliamentary duties.
This time around, the Senate’s democracy is again being prioritised. However, it has been pointed out that primaries, in whatever variety or type, may be elude the deep-rooted support that unites voters to officials or parties they credit with bringing current developments to their constituencies in Thailand.
For the July Senate vote, the same principles that were enforced in 1997 have been dusted off, such as a ban on voting canvassing or any poll activities.
Senate candidates will have to concentrate on knocking on doors to reach out to citizens, according to the critics. This might stimulate some applicants running in new areas to seek outside support from regional politicians to increase their chances of winning.
The main opposition, led by Chaithawat Tulathon, is however claiming that the Move Forward Party ( MPF), which is based in the regions from the ground up, is adopting a different strategy.
The group has frequently visited the regions and conducted provincial administration organization and organizational elections with mostly younger faces. Collectively, the two organizations provide Members with significant political support. In other words, if a political group you get over voters ‘ minds and hearts in the two primary elections, they are on track to earn substantial aid for the general election.
The MFP’s choice of fresh faces to challenge local polls resonates well with voters because they promise to bring a breath of fresh air to the otherwise formulaic and traditional politics that are under the control of powerful families. Young surveys candidates gain more ground in politics thanks to the wireless connection that allows messages to be directly delivered to voters ‘ phones.
If the candidates for the July Senate election are clean or familiar faces who have shown themselves to be able and ready to challenge the status quo and accept change, in the opinion of observers, they might be better positioned to win Senate seats.
They are bound to share the same viewpoint as the MFP MPs once they are in the Senate, and the group will undoubtedly get to form a coalition within the room.
It would be a complete withdrawal from the current situation, in which the NCPO-selected lawmakers disagree with the MFP.
A problem of money
After a delay of about two months to allow a working panels to collect views and recommendations from different stakeholders and interested parties, the digital budget flyer policy appears to be back on track.
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Julapun: Final quarter launch
The details will be finalized before the scheme is submitted to the cabinet for approval at a meeting on April 10. The policy committee, which is led by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, is scheduled to meet on April 10.
Julapun Amornvivat, the vice-minster of finance, asserted this week that the Pheu Thai Party’s flagship policy is in order and is scheduled to launch in the final quarter of this year.
The launch was originally scheduled to take place in February, but it was changed to May in response to criticism and concerns from various organizations, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission ( NACC).
The scheme will distribute funds via digital wallets to up to 50 million people aged 16 and older, with each receiving 10, 000 baht.
Mr. Julapun assured that the giveaway criteria would remain largely unchanged, but he avoided going into detail about the most contentious aspect of the policy, which is the source of the estimated 500 billion baht needed to finance the scheme.
The government intends to take out a loan of up to 500 billion pounds to finance the scheme, which raises questions about its legality.
The borrowing strategy contradicts Pheu Thai’s election campaign’s pledge to not take out loans, and it could also violate the 2018 State Fiscal and Financial Discipline Act by obtaining the enormous loan that would add to the already exorbitant public debt.
There are three possible funding sources: a borrowing bill, the national budget, and using a combination of loans and the budget, according to Lawaron Saengsanit, permanent secretary at the Finance Ministry.
He stated this week that the project details should be made more explicit on April 10 and that the prime minister wants to present them to the cabinet by the end of the month.
Political watchers predict that the Pheu Thai-led government will scale down the scheme and back away from the borrowing plan because the policy is now being watched closely by critics — specifically the NACC — and under the NACC’s watchful eye.
Stithorn Thananithichot, director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at King Prajadhipok’s Institute, told the Bangkok Post that due to pressure and criticism, the ruling party is expected to revise its approach to the scheme.
The government wo n’t push for the loan bill, “because it runs the risk of bringing in more criticism,” I believe. He added that it will use the Pao Tang mobile application to deflect criticism and attempt to fund the policy with the annual budget.
However, the fate of the digital wallet policy rests solely with paroled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the alleged de facto leader of Pheu Thai, according to Mr Stithorn.
The statement is more than enough to give the prime minister an excuse to drop the policy if Thaksin simply states that it is not the right time for the project’s implementation.
I believe they will rework the scheme and narrow the target groups if Thaksin and the government feel they ca n’t back down without losing face, “he said.
According to the analyst, the Pheu Thai Party and Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin need the digital wallet scheme to boost the party’s approval rating. Over the past seven months, Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the ruling party’s popularity has declined.
Numerous observers believe that the results of a recent National Institute of Development Administration ( Nida ) opinion poll are quite alarming.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the party’s chief adviser, leads the Move Forward Party ( MFP ) by a comfortable margin over Mr. Srettha and Ms. Paetongtarn, whose combined popularity was only 23.75 %, compared to Mr. Pita’s disapproval of 42.7 %.
The survey also saw the MFP’s approval rating rise to 48.45 %, up from 44.05 % in the previous survey, while Pheu Thai’s rating dropped to 22.10 %, compared with 24.05 % in the December survey.
According to Mr. Stithorn, the public should and can anticipate more action from Thaksin, who ca n’t afford to maintain a low profile. According to the analyst, the sooner the people will get used to seeing him around the Thai political scene the more they take action.
The former premier’s public appearance last Sunday in Bangkok’s Silom area, a week after a three-day visit to his native province of Chiang Mai, is also seen as a way to test the waters.
The ex- prime minister received a warm welcome, rather than being booed and jeered. His visit to the Pheu Thai Party’s headquarters this week, where he met and spoke with MPs, was also smooth and unaffected.
For those who do not like Thaksin, there is not much they can do until he makes a mistake, according to Mr Stithorn.
Thaksin himself appears to be unconcerned with the opinions of his critics.
The ex-premier said,” Now I’m back, and if anyone does n’t like me, they can live their own life and I will live mine [without disturbing each other],” during his most recent visit to Chiang Mai.