The outcome of the Senate Speaker's selection on Tuesday has only substantiated fears that the Senate will not be as independent as it should be after Sen Mongkol Surasajja, a former Buri Ram governor who is reported to have links with the Bhumjaithai Party (BJT), was voted in with an overwhelming majority of 159 from the 200-seat Senate.
The outcome hardly comes as a surprise. Almost every political pundit and most of the media, including this newspaper, unanimously predicted in advance that Sen Mongkol would win as he enjoyed huge support from about 150 senators from the so-called "Blue Senator" group in the Upper Chamber.
Members of this group, primarily comprised of retired officials, have been accused of being allies of the coalition partner BJT, whose official colour is blue. If that were not enough, members of the Blue Senator group, including Mr Mongkol, reportedly met at the Pullman Hotel on Sunday. The venue has been known as a rendezvous point for politicians from the BJT. That party has used this hotel to hold press conferences and party meetings.
The other two candidates received fewer than a quarter of the total votes if their respective tallies are combined. Sen Nantana Nantavaropas, who calls herself a representative of the "New Breed Senator" fraction, received 20 votes.
Sen Premsak Piayura, a former politician who offered himself as an independent choice in the apparently factionalised Senate, got 13 votes. Four senators abstained, and five ballots were nullified.
Two deputy Senate speakers are likely to go in the same direction. Sen Kriangkrai Srirak, a former 4th Army chief and ex-advisor of Deputy Prime Minister Aunutin Charnvirakul -- the leader of the BJP -- received 150 votes, becoming the first deputy, exactly as the pundits and media predicted.
As the voting for the second deputy speaker went into the night, it would not be a big surprise if this person also hails from the Blue Senator faction.
The vote outcome confirms that the Upper House has political alliances. What is more worrying is that the lopsided domination of the Blue Senator group will turn the Upper Chamber into a conservative camp with a stance similar to that of the BJP.
If that is going to be the case, what will the Senate and its reading of the law be like? Is the Upper Chamber going to check the government and political parties in the Lower House when senators are tied in with political factions? Can our bicameral parliament be a place where lawmakers discuss different political ideas or pass progressive laws?
With a lopsided conservative camp populating the Upper House, the progressive political faction's plan to give the charter a major overhaul will remain a pipe dream. If that is the case, the Upper Chamber will lose its role as a key pillar of democracy.
The onus will fall on the new Senate speaker to prove his worth.
Yesterday, Sen Mongkol said before the voting that he would strive to unite the divided Senate and dedicate every day of his life to protecting the country, religion and monarchy.
His pledges inspire hope but they are still not enough. In addition to the senators performing their patriotic duty, the Senate is elected to serve as a pillar of democracy.
Hopefully, our speakers and all of the senators will never forget that role.