Bangkok, 13th September 2018 – Draft laws on the election of Members of Parliament and the Senate have officially been put into force.
The Royal Gazette website on Wednesday published both laws, which have received the royal approval of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
According to details released on the website, the MPs election bill, which comprises 178 articles, forbids voters, who failed to cast their vote in previous elections to contest any elections or hold any positions at any government office.
The newly-enacted law also states that electronic voting will be allowed until 6 p.m. on the day before the polling date.
Under the Senate election bill’s 99 articles, 250 members of the Upper House will be elected, with 50 final candidates coming from the election process at both provincial and national levels, and 194 candidates to be chosen by the selection committee — all of whom will need to receive final endorsement from the National Council for Peace and Order to take office. The remaining six senators will automatically be the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense, the Supreme Commander, the chiefs of the Royal Thai Army, the Royal Thai Navy, and the Royal Thai Air Force, and the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police.
The Senate election bill comes into effect a day after it was published in the Royal Gazette while the MP election bill will come into force 90 days after it was published.
Based on this, the general election, which must take place within 150 days of the end of the 90-day waiting period, will most likely be held between April and May of 2019.
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