AN Unelected but powerful Senate, if included in the charter as suggested by the government, would be a decisive factor in convincing people to reject the constitution draft in the referendum, observers said yesterday.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said earlier that the charter should give power to senators to balance the executive branch for five years during the “transition period”.

His statement supported the idea of Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who said senators should be selected for a five-year term to ensure the success of national reform and national strategies.

Prayut backed Prawit’s proposal, saying: “Many countries do it this way. General Prawit has the same idea as me.”

Such comments from the country’s two top executives have led to the conclusion that during the transition period the Senate would be vested with special powers, giving it a major role in balancing the power of the next elected government.

There would be no need for a special body such as the National Strategic Reform and Reconciliation Commission (NSRRC), which was recommended by the now-defunct Constitution Drafting Committee led by Borwornsak Uwanno. Political observers believe that the powerful special body was the reason the Borwornsak charter draft was rejected.

Democrat Party deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon said the idea of having an unelected Senate for five years was obsolete and out of date.

In practice, he said, it allowed the junta to pick its own people to control the next government.

“The Constitution Drafting Commission [CDC] should think about the fate of the nation in the long run, rather than just temporarily or in the transition period,” Ongart said.

“If the constitution contained such a nonsensical element, there would be a slim chance of it passing the referendum.”

Academic Jade Donavanik, dean of Durakit Bandit University’s Faculty of Law, said the Senate as a legislative body should have linkages to the people. Although direct elections might not be necessary, people should have some role in selecting senators, he said.

“The selection system as initially suggested by the CDC is fine as it has some elements of public participation, but handpicking senators by the National Council for Peace and Order [NCPO] is undemocratic,” he said.

Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama from the Pheu Thai Party said people should have the right to choose their senators in accordance with democratic norms.

There was no guarantee the junta’s handpicked senators would represent the people or work for the public interest, he added.

There would also be no guarantee that they were good and capable senators, he said, adding “there would be further political division since people might not accept such a Senate”.

It seems certain that the new Senate will have 200 members, but it is not yet clear what exactly their role will be. The latest suggestions have been to empower the Senate to select the prime minister, to initiate a no-confidence debate in Parliament, and to ensure the success of reform and national strategies.

If the Senate is invested with these powers, political observers believed it would be a powerful “third force” in Parliament alongside the governing and opposition MPs. It would be like a large party that balances the power of Pheu Thai and the Democrats, critics said.

The Senate would play a significant role in charting the country’s political direction, observers added.

Looking from another perspective, this formula for the Senate to “balance the power” of the government could be seen by opponents as an attempt by the junta to cling to power.

Supporters of this “formula”, however, believe the plan would work only if Prayutdecides to accept the role as prime minister in the future because he has popular support.

If a military general who does not have public support is selected as prime minister, the formula could lead to a situation similar to the Black May crisis in 1992 when pro-democracy demonstrators rallied to bring down General Suchinda Kraprayoon’s government.

CDC spokesman Udom Ratamarit said the drafters had at present neither rejected nor accepted the government’s idea regarding such a powerful unelected senate.

He added that the commission needed time to think the matter over carefully and the CDC’s current idea regarding an indirectly elected Senate was still being considered.

“I insist that we retain our freedom to discuss all proposals; nobody could dictate the charter writing,” Udom said.