A limited version of the primary vote, where a handful of political party members are represented in nominating MP candidates, has drawn criticism from academics and parties.
The version is being considered by the government, as confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam on Wednesday.
Instead of at least 100 registered party members voting in a primary election to find potential MP candidates in a province, Mr Wissanu said the method will go back to what the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) had suggested when it wrote the organic law on political parties which governed the primaries.
Mr Wissanu said Wednesday the CDC-suggested method is likely to be adopted in which each party will set up an 11-strong panel to scout potential MP candidates.
The panel consists of four party executives and seven member representatives.
The party executive board will pick MP candidates to stand in the election tentatively set for Feb 24 next year.
Political experts said the new primary votes will cut out many steps in the candidature process.
But it also means the power to select potential MP candidates reverts to the party executive board, which is not consistent with the constitution's spirit to give registered members a role in choosing the party's MP candidates.
Meanwhile, Jade Donavanik, chairman of the Faculty of Law College of Asian Scholars, said the new voting method is no different from the previous system where the party executive board had all of the say in fielding MP candidates.
It is also unfair to the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties which have invested time and money preparing for full-scale primary votes.
Democrat deputy leader Assawin Wiphusiri slammed the new primary vote method as merely paying lip service to reform by vesting MP candidate selection powers in the hands of party executives, rather than members.
"What they proposed is not a primary vote at all, in form or substance," he said.
Samart Kaewmeechai, a former Pheu Thai MP for Chiang Rai, said the change of primary vote method was probably motivated by the government wanting to help new parties which will serve as the regime's allies in establishing a coalition government after the election.
Small and medium-sized parties find it hard to arrange primaries that are open to all members, due to constraints in recruiting registered members within the limited time before the election, he said.
That is why the parties need primaries that are easier to conduct, he said.
