Bangkok (VNA) - A process to elect 200 new senators has kicked off in Thailand, as the five-year tenure of the 250 senators installed by the now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) ended on May 10.
The country’s Election Commission (EC) said candidates can now get the forms and documents to fill out to introduce themselves and certify their knowledge and experience to run in the election at Bangkok's district offices and provincial registration offices nationwide between 8.30am and 4.30pm every day.
The date for application will be announced on May 13, with elections at district, provincial and national levels to be held on June 9, June 16 and June 26, respectively. The results will be announced on July 2.
According to the 2017 charter, the new Senate will comprise 200 members and will not be directly elected by the public. The applicants will vote among themselves in three stages -- district, provincial and national.
Even though the senators' term expired, they will remain in office and retain their power to scrutinise the government, endorse legislative bills and appointments to independent agencies until the next batch assumes office.
Unlike the current Senate, the new one will not be allowed to co-elect a prime minister but will retain the aforementioned powers./.
Thailand reopens anti-fake news centre before Senate election
The Election Commission (EC) of Thailand reopened its anti-fake news centre on April 1 in preparation for the selection of the Senate, which will commence as soon as the current term expires in May.
