Former red-shirt leader Weng Tojirakarn lashed out at Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan on Wednesday after she made it clear she would not exercise her right as an appointed senator to vote for a prime minister, no matter who is nominated.
Dr Weng said that rather than abstain, senator Porntip should simply resign from the upper house if she wanted to strip herself of her vote.
He made the remarks in this message posted in Thai on his Facebook account:
"Dear Khunying Porntip, a senator appointed under the 2017 Constitution. Switching off the (senator’s) power must be done by resigning from the post, not abstaining from your vote. Abstention is a decision to refute the consensus of the people. Please respect yourself and be honest to yourself too."
He said, “If there were no appointed senators under the 2017 constitution, the people’s consensus would be sacred, respected and put into force. But with the presence of the senators under this charter, the people’s consensus is destroyed. It is better to not have senators.’’
The former key figure of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship was responding to remarks by former director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science.
Khunying Porntip said on Tuesday that she stood firm in her decision not to exercise her power as a senator to vote for a prime minister. No matter who is nominated for prime minister, she would abstain.
Her remarks drew heavy criticism, especially from supporters of the Move Forward Party (MFP) whose leader Pita Limjaroenrat failed to secure enough support to become Thailand's 30th prime minister when the bicameral parliament voted on July 13.
The final tally was 324 votes in favour and 182 against with 199 abstentions, among the 705 elected representatives and apointed senators who participated. The MFP leader needed 375 votes, a simple majority of the 749 combined House and Senate, to win office.
Mr Pita received 311 votes in favour from MPs and 148 against, with 39 abstentions. He received just 13 votes in favour from senators, with 34 against and 159 abstentions.
On July 14, the MFP submitted a proposal to parliament seeking to strip the military-appointed senators of their power to co-select the prime minister. The party wants to revoke Section 272 of the constituion, which allows the 250-member Senate to join in the process of selecting a prime minister.
One of the 250 military-appointed senators, Renu Tunkachivangoon, tendered her resignation a day before the July 13 vote. She did not announce why.
Ms Renu served as deputy secretary-general to the prime minister for political affairs before she was appointed to the Senate by the coup makers' now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order.
Weng Tojirakarn greets supporters as he leaves the Medical Correctional Institute on Sept 15, 2020. (File photo)