National Legislative Assembly (NLA) vice president Peerasak Porjit denied reports Monday that he is helping the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) prepare potential candidates to stand in the election.
Mr Peerasak, a veteran politician in the northern province of Uttaradit, said he has no role in selecting candidates for the PPRP, or any political party, and that he has merely been making introductions.
The NLA vice president said he has a large circle of friends due to his line of work, adding he is a former senator for Uttaradit, ex-chairman of the provincial administrative organisation, and head of the NLA's public relations campaign.
He said while he gives his opinions or advice to politicians seeking to join political parties and contest the elections, he does not have a say in a political party's internal affairs.
Mr Peerasak also expressed confidence the other NLA members know the boundaries and operate within the regulations, when asked about reports that some lawmakers are helping the PPRP shortlist election candidates.
He played down reports about some NLA members are lobbying for Senate seats, saying this is a normal process because the Senate has an important role to play.
He said the NLA members are experts and are qualified to join specialists from other fields to serve as senators.
Under the charter, the first Senate will comprise 250 members from two selection processes.
The Election Commission (EC) is responsible for supervising the selection of 50 people while 194 seats will be handpicked by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) in a process that has yet to be determined.
The other six seats are reserved for the leaders of the three armed forces, the supreme commander, the permanent secretary of defence, and the national police chief.
According to the NLA vice president, the selection process of 194 senators is expected to begin after the EC finishes drawing up all of the constituencies. As such, he said, the selection method has yet to be discussed.
"The NCPO is sending out any signals about NLA members who may be interested in serving as senators," he said.
"So we cannot say that now is the right time to discuss the issue as it could get people riled up unnecessarily," he added emphatically.
