National Assembly (Thailand)

The upper house is called the Senate of Thailand. The chamber is non-partisan and has limited legislative powers. The Senate is composed of 250 appointed members appointed by the Royal Thai Army.[2] A term in the Senate is six years. It forbids members from holding any additional office or membership in political parties.[3]

The lower house is called the House of Representatives of Thailand. The chamber is made up of 400 members from single constituency elections and 100 members from "proportional representation" by party lists, as codified in the 2007 Constitution of Thailand. Thailand's "proportional representation" is parallel voting, AKA "mixed member majoritarian" (MMM). This is where the 100 seats are apportioned to political parties in accordance with the "proportional representation" popular vote each party receives. Every eligible voter in Thailand in a general election has two votes. The first is for constituency MP. The second vote is for the party the voter prefers. The second category is then added and the results divided into eight electoral areas. The other 400 seats are directly elected on a constituency basis. The House's term is four years, however, a dissolution can happen at any time.[4]

Elections in Thailand are held under universal suffrage; however, some restrictions apply: The voter must be a national of Thailand (if not by birth then by being a citizen for 5 years), must be over 18 years old before the year the election is held, and must have registered 90 days before the election. Those barred from voting in House elections are: members of the sangha or clergy, those suspended from the privilege for various reasons, detainees under legal or court orders, and those who are of unsound mind or of mental infirmity. Voting in Thailand is compulsory.[5]

The powers of the National Assembly are enshrined in Chapter 6, Part 7 of the 2007 Constitution of Thailand.[8] The main powers of the National Assembly are its legislative powers. The procedure for an enactment of a bill is as follows:

• A bill can be introduced to the National Assembly for consideration by the Cabinet of Thailand; by a minimum of twenty members of the House of Representatives; by a court (the judiciary); by constitutional independent organs (but only in respect to laws that concern that organization); and by persons who have the right to vote submitting a petition of no fewer than ten thousand in number (a form of direct democracy). If the bill is a money bill its introduction can only be made with the endorsement of the prime minister.[9]
• The bill is then introduced to the House of Representative for debate, amendment, and vote. When the House of Representatives has considered the bill and passed a resolution approving it, the House of Representatives shall submit the bill to the Senate. The Senate must finish the consideration of such bill within 60 days, unless it is a money bill, when consideration must be finished within 30 days.[10]
• After the Senate has finished consideration of a bill, and if it agrees with the House of Representatives, the bill will then proceed to the next stage. If the Senate disagrees with the House of Representatives, then the bill will be withheld and returned to the House of Representatives. If there is an amendment, the amended bill will then be returned to the House of Representatives. If the House of Representatives approves the amendment, the bill will proceed to the next stage. In other cases, each house will appoint representatives (who may or may not be members of the Assembly) in equal number (as may be fixed by the House of Representatives), to constitute a joint committee to consider the bill. The joint committee will then prepare a report and resubmit the bill to both houses. If both houses approve the bill already considered by the joint committee, the bill will proceed to the next stage. If either house disapproves it, the bill will be withheld.[11]
• After a bill has been approved by the National Assembly, the prime minister presents it to the monarch for royal assent within 20 days from the date of the receipt of the bill from the National Assembly. It shall come into force upon its publication in the Royal Gazette.[12]
• If the monarch refuses royal assent, by withholding his signature to a bill and either returns it to the National Assembly or does not return it within 90 days, (a veto), the National Assembly must re-deliberate that bill. If the National Assembly resolves to reaffirm the bill with the vote of not less than two-thirds of the total number of existing members of both houses, the prime minister shall again present the bill to the monarch for signature. If the monarch still does not sign and return the bill within 30 days, the prime minister can cause the bill to be promulgated as an act in the Royal Gazette as if the monarch had signed it. This gives the National Assembly the power to overturn a royal veto.[13]

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Cabinet answer questions in the House of Representatives.

The Government of Thailand, particularly the Cabinet of Thailand is answerable directly to the National Assembly. The constitution mandates that within 15 days of being sworn-in, the Cabinet must state its policies to the National Assembly.[14] The National Assembly has the authority to call any minister to appear before it at any time to explain policies or answer questions. This power of scrutiny is important as some members of the Cabinet need not be members of the National Assembly. If they are a member, they can only be from the lower house or the House of Representatives, as the constitution expressly forbids members of the Senate from being members of the Cabinet.[15]

As the prime minister is selected from the ranks of the House of Representatives and elected by the house, the prime minister is therefore directly responsible to the legislature. The National Assembly can compel him to appear before it like any other minister, and force him to explain policies and answer questions, just like any other member of the Cabinet. In reverse the Cabinet also has some powers over the National Assembly. The Cabinet can, according to the constitution, call an emergency session of the National Assembly at any time.[16]

Apart from its legislative and oversight functions, the National Assembly has the power of appointment and removal. The house is given exclusive right to elect the Prime Minister of Thailand. First the candidate must receive the support of one-fifth of all members. Afterwards, a simple majority vote will confirm his appointment which will be made officially by the monarch. The royal assent is then countersigned by the President of the National Assembly.[17]

The Senate is given exclusive powers to advise on the appointment of members of the judiciary and members of independent government 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.[18] However, the power to appoint members of the State Audit Commission (including the Auditor General) belongs to the monarch, with a counter signature of the President of the Senate.[19]

The National Assembly has the power to impeach and remove these officers. The prime minister can only be removed by the house in a vote of no confidence. Members of the Cabinet are not appointed by the National Assembly, but they can be removed by the National Assembly in a similar process. This time the vote of no confidence is allowed by both or individual houses. Judges and independent government officers can also be removed by both houses of the National Assembly.[20]

Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall the old meeting place of the National Assembly, now only the State Opening is held there.

Prior to 1932, the Kingdom of Siam did not possess a legislature, as all legislative powers were vested in the person of the monarch. This had been the case since the foundation of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 12th century, as the king was seen as a “Dharmaraja” or "king who rules in accordance with Dharma" (the Buddhist law of righteousness). However, on 24 June 1932 a group of civilians and military officers, calling themselves the Khana Ratsadon (or People's Party) carried out a bloodless revolution, in which the 150 years of absolute rule of the House of Chakri was ended. In its stead the group advocated a constitutional monarchy with an elected legislature.

The "Draft Constitution" of 1932 signed by King Prajadhipok, created Thailand’s first legislature, a People’s Assembly with 70 appointed members. The Assembly met for the first time on 28 June 1932, in the Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall. The Khana Ratsadon decided that the people were not yet ready for an elected assembly, then later changed their minds. By the time the "permanent" constitution came into force in December of that year, elections were scheduled for 15 November 1933. The new constitution changed the composition of the Assembly to 78 directly elected and 78 appointed (by the Khana Ratsadon), together totalling 156 members.

After the Second World War a new constitution was promulgated in 1946 under the government of Pridi Panomyong. The constitution is considered Thailand’s most democratic and created for the first time a bicameral legislature: a Senate and a House of Representatives. Also for the first and last time, the constitution called for a fully elected Senate (albeit indirectly) and House. The Senate to a six-year term and the House to four years. The ban on political parties was lifted and the first full elections were held in 1946. However, in 1947 a coup d’etat by the military abrogated the constitution and replaced it with the 1947 "temporary" and then a "permanent" charter in 1949. The new constitution retained the House, but created a 100-member Senate directly appointed by the king.

On June 5, 1949, Orapin Chaiyakan became the first woman to be elected to hold a post in the National Assembly of Thailand (specifically, the House of Representatives.[21][22])

Parliament House of Thailand, meeting place for both the House and the Senate from 1974 to 2019

This charter lasted until 1957 when the military again carried out a coup d'etat and created a single 123-member appointed National Assembly, 103 of which were from the military or police. In 1959 Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat carried out another coup d'etat this time abolishing the National Assembly altogether. In 1969 under Thanom Kittikachorn the National Assembly returned, this time with a 219-member House and again a royally appointed Senate. This lasted until 1972 when Thanom overthrew his own government and ruled the country through a National Executive Council. Under pressure Thanom reinstated a 299-member appointed National Legislative Assembly, 200 which were members of the military.

In 1974 the rule of the "three tyrants" (as Thanom's tenure became known) was finally overthrown. A new constitution was promulgated, this time swinging the power back to the legislature by creating a bicameral legislature with an elected House and a House-appointed Senate. Within two years the military led by Thanin Kraivichien again abrogated the constitution and installed a royally-appointed 360-member unicameral National Assembly.

By 1978, Kriangsak Chamanan (who succeeded Tanin in 1977) restored the bicameral legislature with an elected 301-member House and a 225-member Senate appointed by the prime minister. This arrangement lasted for almost 13 years until Army Commander General Suchinda Kraprayoon overthrew the government of Chatichai Choonhavan in 1991 and returned the unicameral appointed National Assembly with 292 members. However Suchinda’s rule was brought down by the Black May uprising, which led to the overthrow of the military and the drafting of a new constitution.

Committee meeting room at Sappaya-Sapasathan (new Parliament House of Thailand) during the standing committee meeting.

The Constitution of 1997 or the "People's Constitution", returned Thailand to democracy with a National Assembly composed of an elected 500-member (400 directly, 100 by party-lists) House of Representatives, and an elected 200-member Senate. This arrangement lasted for almost ten years. The constitution was abrogated following the 2006 Coup d’etat, by the military under General Sonthi Boonyaratglin. In 2007 the military appointed National Legislative Assembly to draft the new constitution. This copy was eventually adopted after it was approved through a referendum in 2007. This constitution was abrogated at the end of 2013 with the fall of the Yingluck Shinawatra government. As of 2016 the country is governed by the 2014 interim constitution of Thailand. A referendum on a new constitution is held in August 2016.[23] After it was approved through a referendum in 2016, in 6 April 2017 new constitution is officially endorsed by His Majesty the King Vajiralongkorn in the ceremony of promulgation for the 2017 constitution.[24]

• Further Information: Constitution of Thailand