National Assembly of Thailand

The President of the National Assembly of Thailand also serves as the speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand. He is automatically appointed Chairman of the National Assembly after he is elected to the post of Speaker of the House. The deputy chairman of the National Assembly is also the speaker of the Thai Senate ^[2] .

The Thai National Assembly is a bicameral legislature composed of the Senate and House of Representatives . The Assembly has 650 members. 576 of them are selected by voting (500 deputies and 76 senators), and 74 senators are selected through party selection. Majority elections in Thailand are held according to a system of relative majority . According to it, 375 members of the House of Representatives and 76 members of the Senate are elected. The remaining 125 members of the House are elected according to the system of proportional representation of party lists .

Senate

The upper house of parliament is called the Senate of Thailand . The members are non-partisan and have limited legislative powers. The Senate consists of 74 appointed members and 76 elected, one from each province. The composition of the Senate is elected for six years. Senate members are prohibited from taking any additional positions or being members of political parties ^[3] .

House of Representatives

The lower house of parliament is called the House of Representatives of Thailand . The House of Representatives consists of 500 members who are democratically elected: 375 members are elected in the elections, one from each constituency, and the remaining 125 are elected by proportional representation of party lists ^[4] . The powers of the House of Representatives were enshrined in the 2007 Constitution.

Elections

Thai elections are held in accordance with universal suffrage . However, there are some limitations. The voter must be a Thai citizen (if not born, then must be a citizen of 5 years), he must be over 18 years old and must register 90 days before the election. Members of the Buddhist community of the Sangha , representatives of the clergy, detained by legal or judicial orders, as well as mentally ill and mentally retarded people are prohibited from participating in the elections. Voting in Thailand is mandatory ^[5] .

The two chambers of the National Assembly have different powers. In accordance with the constitution, the Senate is elected for six years, and the House for four years. In general, the duration of the National Assembly depends on the House of Representatives. Each year, the National Assembly sits at two sessions: the “regular” and the “legislative” sessions. The first meeting of the National Assembly should take place within 30 days after the election of the House of Representatives. The first meeting is opened by the king giving a speech called the throne . This ceremony is held in the throne room of Ananda-Samakh . The king may appoint a representative to carry out this duty. The king also has the right to call an extraordinary meeting of the session and extend the session at its discretion.

In some cases, the National Assembly may hold a joint meeting of both houses. Such cases include: the need to appoint a regent , any change to the succession law of 1924 , the opening of the first session, the approval of the declaration of war, the explanation and approval of international treaties, the announcement of the policy by the cabinet, amendments to the constitution .

Legislation

The powers of the National Assembly are described in chapter 6 of the Thai Constitution of 2007 ^[6] . The main powers of the National Assembly are its legislative powers. The procedure for adopting the bill is as follows:

• The bill may be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration by the Thai Cabinet ; at least twenty members of the House of Representatives; judicial authorities in Thailand; independent constitutional bodies (but only in relation to laws relating to this organization); persons entitled to vote by submitting a petition in an amount of at least ten thousand people (manifestation of “direct democracy” ). All financial bills are considered only with the approval of the Prime Minister ^[6] .

• The bill is then submitted to the House of Representatives for discussion, amendment and voting. When the House of Representatives considered the bill and passed an approving resolution, it was in the Senate . The Senate must complete consideration of such a bill within 60 days. The Senate has 30 days to review financial bills ^[7] .

• If the Senate, having completed the consideration of the bill, agrees with the House of Representatives, the bill will proceed to the next stage. If the Senate does not agree with the House of Representatives, the progress of the bill will be suspended and returned to the House of Representatives. If the Senate has made any amendments to the bill, it will also be returned to the House of Representatives. If the House of Representatives approves the amendment, the bill will move on to the next step. In other cases, each house appoints representatives (who may not be members of the Assembly) in equal numbers to create a joint committee to review the bill. The joint committee will then prepare a report and resubmit the bill to the Senate and House of Representatives. If both houses approve a bill already considered by the joint committee, it will move on to the next step. If the bill is not approved by the Senate or the House of Representatives, its promotion will be stopped ^[8] .

• After the bill is approved by the National Assembly, the prime minister submits it to the king for his consent . For this, the monarch has 20 days from the receipt of the bill from the National Assembly. The law comes into force after its publication in the Royal Herald ^[9] .

• If the king refuses to sign the bill, he returns to the National Assembly for re-discussion. Also, the king can veto it , which will last 90 days. If the National Assembly approves the bill by at least two-thirds of all its votes, the Prime Minister will again submit the bill to the monarch for signing. If the monarch does not sign and return the bill within 30 days, the prime minister can initiate the promulgation of the bill in the form of an act and print it in the Royal Herald. And it will have the same power as if the king signed the bill. This procedure enables the National Assembly to repeal the royal veto ^[10] .

Government Relations

The Thai government , in particular, the cabinet under the reporting directly to the National Assembly. The Constitution provides that, within 15 days after taking the oath, the cabinet must state its policy in the National Assembly ^[11] . The National Assembly has the right to call any minister at any time to explain the policy or answer questions. This control is so important that some cabinet members do not have to be members of the National Assembly. If they are members of the National Assembly, they can only be from the House of Representatives, since the constitution prohibits members of the Senate from being in the cabinet ^[12] .

Since the Prime Minister is elected from the House of Representatives, he is directly responsible to the legislature. The National Assembly may call him to appear before them, like any other minister, and answer questions. In turn, the cabinet also has some powers with respect to the National Assembly. According to the constitution, the cabinet can convene an emergency meeting of the National Assembly at any time ^[13] .

Appointments

In addition to its legislative and oversight functions, the National Assembly oversees the appointment and dismissal of certain posts in the government . For example, the House of Representatives is granted the exclusive right to elect the Thai Prime Minister. First, the candidate must receive the support of a fifth of all members of the House. Then, he should be elected by a majority vote. Then the appointment of the Prime Minister will be officially certified by the monarch after which, the royal consent is signed by the President of the National Assembly of Thailand ^[14] .

The Senate is granted exclusive authority to advise on the appointment of members of the judiciary and members of independent state organizations. These include judges of the Constitutional Court of Thailand ; members of the Election Commission; members of the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Human Rights Commission ^[15] . However, the authority to appoint members of the Audit Commission belongs to the king and is only certified by the signature of the Chairman of the Senate ^[16] .

The National Assembly has the power to impeach and dismiss these officials. The Prime Minister may be removed only after a vote of no confidence is convened in the House of Representatives. Cabinet members are not appointed by the National Assembly, but they can be removed from office by a similar process. In this case, a vote of no confidence is convened by one or both houses. Judges and independent government officials may also be lured by both houses of the National Assembly. ^[17]

Members of the National Assembly enjoy parliamentary privileges, which are described in the constitution. For example, no member of the House of Representatives or the Senate can be arrested, detained, or summoned for interrogation as a criminal suspect unless permission has been obtained from the house of which he is a member. Or if he was not arrested at the crime scene .

Also, members of the House of Representatives or the Senate have the right to create their own rules and procedures, committees, meetings, organize the submission and consideration of bills and bills, submit petitions, consultations, debate, adopt resolutions and hold public debates.

Until 1932, there was no separate legislative power in the Kingdom of Siam . All legislative powers were carried out by the king himself. However, in 1932, after the revolution, the draft constitution was approved. According to it, the first legislative body was created: the People’s Assembly. She had 70 members. The Assembly first met on June 28, 1932. Already a year later, the new draft constitution changed the composition of the Assembly. Now there were 78 elected and 78 appointed members.

After the Second World War , in 1946, the constitution was once again amended. According to it, a bicameral legislature was first created in Thailand. And the parliament was divided into the Senate and House of Representatives. The ban on political parties was lifted, and the first full-fledged elections were held in the same 1946.

This procedure lasted until 1957, when the military again carried out a coup d'etat and created its own National Assembly, which numbered 123 members. Moreover, 103 were representatives of the army or the police. In 1969, Tanom Kittikachon reinstated the National Assembly with a 219-member House of Representatives and a newly appointed Senate. That was until 1972, when Tanom Kittikachon overthrew his government and ruled the country through the National Executive Council. However, under pressure from Tanom, Kittikachon reinstated the National Legislative Assembly for 299 members, 200 of whom were military personnel.

By 1978, Kriansak Chamanan reinstated a bicameral parliament with a 301-member House of Representatives and a 225-member Senate, appointed by the Prime Minister.

The 1997 constitution returned Thailand to democracy with a National Assembly of 500 elected deputies in the House of Representatives and a Senate of 200 members. In 2007, the military appointed the National Legislative Assembly to draft a new constitution. After the last coup and the completion of the National Legislative Assembly, Thailand has a bicameral parliament: the Thai National Assembly.

• Democratic Party of Thailand
• Phia thai

• Official site