The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has agreed to adjust its proposed electoral system following heavy criticism of it being "unfair and unjust".
CDC spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni said Wednesday after receiving feedback from critics, the committee was finding ways to fine-tune the proposed mixed-member apportionment (MMA) electoral system, so that the winning constituency MP candidates would not be disadvantaged.
The panel is considering two options.
The first is to subtract the votes for a failed candidate who receives the second-largest number of votes in a constituency from the votes for the winning candidate and the result will be added to the party-list votes of the political party of which the winning candidate is a member.
For example, if a candidate wins 90,000 votes while a second-place candidate gains 70,000 votes, 20,000 votes will be given to the winner's political party.
The second option is to subtract the votes for all losers in a constituency from the votes for the winning candidates and the resulting figure given to the winning candidate's political party, Mr Norachit said.
Wissanu: 'Every vote should count'
The two options mean the political party of the winning constituency candidate will not be put at an disadvantage when it comes to calculating party-list votes, Mr Norachit said.
Mr Norachit also said the CDC initially agreed the ratio between the constituency MPs and party-list MPs should be 350:150, which is no different from the past.
The CDC is maintaining the principle that "every vote is meaningful" and not wasted for its proposed electoral system.
The CDC's move to adjust the system came after it faced fierce criticism from political parties and academics who expressed anger that the original MMA system was not respecting the principles of democracy.
Under the original proposed MMA, a single ballot would be used for both constituency and party-list MPs.
All votes cast for the losing constituency candidates would still be used to calculate the number of party-list seats, rather than being thrown away under the old first-past-the-post system.
But critics have slammed the system, saying it does not reflect the real intentions of voters.
Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, a former member of the defunct National Reform Council, and academics from the National Institute of Development Administration, are among critics of the proposed system.
He said the votes cast for winning constituency candidates will not be included in the count for the party-list system but the votes for the losers will be.
As a result, the party-list MPs will effectively be unsuccessful candidates.
"This is unfair and unjust, and even violates the rights of voters," he said.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told the Bangkok Post the original MMA does not respect the will of the electorate.
He said it is not fair to use only the votes for poll losers to calculate party-list seats while votes for winning candidates are discarded.
Mr Abhisit also disagreed with the use of a single ballot for both constituency and party-list MPs, because it does not demonstrate whether the voters want to select an individual constituency MP or choose their preferred party.
He also said the MMA system would open the way for political parties to field "nominee candidates" to contest in their rivals' strongholds to take votes away from candidates favoured to win.
If those nominees lose in the constituency elections, votes for the nominees can still be used in the calculation of party-list seats to benefit those parties, Mr Abhisit said.
He added that under the proposed voting system, party-list MPs will not be subject to scrutiny from the public since they are chosen with the votes of unsuccessful candidates. It is also unfair that they will have a chance to become cabinet ministers, Mr Abhisit said.
Deputy Democrat leader Jurin Laksanavisit said the proposed single ballot system does not reflect the real intentions of voters.
Under the single ballot system, voters will be "forced" to choose both the party and the individual candidate against their will, Mr Jurin said.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party leader Virote Pao-in earlier said the party stands by the charter recommendations it submitted to the Borwornsak committee.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam agreed Wednesday with the CDC's notion that every vote should count rather than thrown away.
"Today, we should not endure the serious flaws of the old [election] system [before the MMA]," Mr Wissanu said.
"It is obvious that it has more disadvantages than benefits."
