The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) accepted in principle yesterday the last two organic bills, one governing the election of MPs and the other the selection of senators.
Lawmakers voted to accept the draft for deliberation and scrutiny at their first reading yesterday. They also appointed two panels to vet the bills, the last of 10 that are constitutionally required before the general election can be held.
The two bills were presented to the NLA by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC)
CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan said public opinion and the views of the Election Commission were taken into consideration when they were drafted.
He defended the introduction of a requirement that MP candidates must be assigned numbers different from their party numbers, which critics fear could confuse voters. In past elections, candidates campaigned using their party numbers.
Mr Meechai said the new requirement will compel parties to pick MP candidates whose credentials impress voters and who are familiar faces with strong connections to people and localities.
Political experts said voters will go to the trouble of finding candidates' election numbers on the ballots only if the candidates have made a good enough impression on them.
Mr Meechai said the organic bill on the selection of MPs also gives the Election Commission the unprecedented power of being able to stop the vote as soon as they detect irregularities.
"We made a clear distinction between 'dishonest' and 'unfair' because the punishment is severe -- a lifetime ban from politics," he said.
NLA members debated the bills in principle, easing concern the bills might be voted down and the polls delayed.
On the matter of selecting senators, some members questioned how effective the bill would be in eliminating collusion.
The bills could still be amended by the NLA during the second hearing as the scrutiny process continues.
Mr Meechai, meanwhile, said the EC sent some of its representatives to join the CDC meetings during the drafting of the organic bill on MPs' election.
