Cabinet ministers tipped to become senators are advised to comply with shareholding regulations as the government prepares to submit the list of 250 prospective senators for royal endorsement on Friday.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said ministers who tendered their resignation in preparation for making the switch should check their share ownership, especially in media outlets and companies granted state concessions.
Under the law, senators must not hold stocks in media firms or in companies that hold concessions that give them monopoly powers, he said.
Mr Wissanu also urged members of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) tipped to serve as senators to resign before the day the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) submits the list for royal endorsement.
The list will be submitted after the Election Commission announces the winners of constituency seats on Wednesday.
Media shareholding regulations have been thrust into the spotlight with several MP candidates facing accusations they breached the rules.
Phubet Henlod, a Future Forward candidate in Sakhon Nakhon’s Constituency 2, was disqualified by the Supreme Court’s Election Division a few days before the March 24 polls for being a partner in a media company.
However, Mr Wissanu said each case is different and not every candidate facing accusations over a breach of the the share-holding rule will be disqualified and have their election candidacy withdrawn.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai legal expert Chusak Sirinil yesterday called on the EC to wait for the Constitutional Court's ruling on the constitutionality of its formula involving the calculation and distribution of party-list seats before declaring the results.
Based on the EC's formula, a total of 27 parties should receive at least one party-list MP. The formula reportedly adheres to the calculation method initiated by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC).
The court will rule on Wednesday, following its acceptance of a petition from the Office of the Ombudsman asking if the EC's allocation of party-list MPs under Section 128 of the organic law is constitutional.
The request by the Ombudsman’s office was based on a petition submitted to the office by Wiratana Kalayasiri, former MP from the Democrat Party.
Mr Chusak said the EC still has some time to spare and the agency should not rush to announce the poll winners.