Minister rejects Thai Constitution Court's ruling on Senate composition

BANGKOK, November 20 (TNA) - Thai Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan, who is also the leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, says he does not accept the Constitution Court's ruling on Wednesday that the amended making of the Thai Senate violates the Constitution. Charupong insisted that he is answerable to the majority of Thai people and ignores the minority. In response to the Constitution Court's ruling with the majority vote of 6:3, Charupong later told reporters that the Constitution Court's nine-member judge-panel appears to prefer Thailand's 2007 Constitution to the 1997 one and to view that appointed senators support checks and balance, instead of the Thai Upper House which comprises only elected senators. Charupong stressed he wonders whether the appointment of Thai senators is democratic because they are selected by only seven persons, not by eligible voters nationwide, arguing how the selection by the handful of people was considered better than the election by voters throughout the country and publicly announcing that the Constitution Court's ruling was unacceptable to him. The interior minister cautioned that the Constitution Court's verdict may increasingly divide the society and make the division clearer because one side agrees with the Thai Senate's power coming from eligible voters, while the other supports the Upper Chamber's power coming from a handful of people. Asked how the Thai government will take responsibility with regard to the Constitution Court's verdict, the interior minister noted that government figures have not yet discussed its consequences, but the administration will be answerable to the majority of 63 million Thai people whose stances are more important than the judgment of a handful of persons. (TNA)