The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed a petition seeking the removal of 90 senators who were members of the now-defunct National Legislative Assembly (NLA), saying it has no jurisdiction over the case.
The petition was jointly submitted by Pitiphong Temcharoen, spokesman for the Thai Liberal Party, and Tussanai Teenamkham, deputy leader of the Thai People Power Party.
They asked the office to seek the Constitutional Court's interpretation of whether the 90 senators who were former NLA members are actually eligible for their posts.
Mr Pitiphong previously said Section 108 of the constitution prohibits former MPs and senators from becoming new senators unless they have left the post for at least five years.
However, Raksagecha Chaechai, secretary-general of the office, said yesterday a meeting of the ombudsmen concluded the petition had nothing to do with disputes over the legality of law.
This did not comply with regulations which allow the ombudsman to forward the petition to the court, Mr Raksagechai said.
The constitution says the power to submit petitions seeking the removal of senators rests with the Senate Speaker and the Election Commission.