The selection of seven new members of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) board is expected to be wrapped up by the end of next month when the general session of the Senate, which is responsible for voting on the candidates, concludes.
A delay is unwanted as the government cannot afford to let the decision-making vacuum at the existing NBTC board continue, according to an applicant who requested anonymity.
According to the Secretariat of the Senate, which handles the application process, a total of 78 candidates applied.
Based on the amended NBTC Act, five NBTC members will come from the telecom, broadcasting, television, consumer protection, and people's liberty and rights promotion sectors and another two from areas deemed to benefit NBTC's mission and duty.
The selection committee later defined the two latter fields as law and economics. Each NBTC board member represents each field.
Vision presentation by applicants in the batches of broadcasting and television is slated for Aug 31 and that for telecom and consumer protection for Sept 2.
Applicants for the remaining groups will have to present their vision on Sept 3.
The amended NBTC Act enables the Secretariat's selection committee to pick seven names among the most qualified candidates right away and pass the list to the Senate for further voting.
The list of the seven is scheduled to be forwarded to the Senate on Sept 8.
The source told the Bangkok Post that many candidates shared their views that the recruitment process is likely to be concluded by the end of September as the government must hasten to end the decision-making and management vacuum at the NBTC.
The existing board of six remaining commissioners is working under a special extension term granted by the previous military regime, as the board's working term ended in October 2017.
The government has also come under heavy criticism for mismanagement of the pandemic.
"The annual budget bill has just been pushed through by the House of Representatives, which means signs of a general election or House dissolution become clearer than the past," the candidate said.
The applicant said the government has to end the vacuum at the NBTC this time so the chosen board members will be able to carry out work that can benefit those in power in return.
However, a source in the telecom industry who requested anonymity said the selection of the new NBTC board members may not be easy this time due to the new conditions in the amended NBTC Act.
First, each of the seven candidates must obtain approval from at least five out of a total of seven members of the selection committee to qualify.
If no candidate in any sector is selected through the voting, new recruitment for those sectors will be held.
Second, the list of seven names will then be forwarded to the Senate and each of them must obtain votes from at least half of the senators to qualify as NBTC board members.
Any selected candidate who fails to get enough votes will not be able to apply again if a new round of recruitment is needed.
Meanwhile, a delay in the process could prolong the decision-making vacuum at the NBTC, which could affect various plans, such as the 3500-megahertz spectrum licence auction and the satellite network filing auction, the source said.
