Political parties at loggerheads over who gets to chair various House committees have been invited to a meeting this week to iron out their differences, according to the ruling Pheu Thai Party whip.
Of the 35 House committees, the top seats for six panels are being sought by multiple parties, said Wisut Chainarun, a Pheu Thai list-MP and a party whip.
The meeting will bring together parties eyeing the same posts to find some common ground.
The Move Forward Party (MFP), in particular, is adamant that it must chair 11 House committees. As the biggest party with 151 MPs, the MFP was granted a quota to chair 11 committees.
The party saw the MP number drop to 150 after a constituency MP resigned following disclosures about his criminal background, prompting a by-election to be held in Rayong province on Sunday. This has reduced the MFP's quota to 10.
However, the party remains confident it will retain the Rayong seat and insisted it will ultimately be offered 11 chairmanships.
Mr Wisut said the meeting over the chair posts would go ahead this week before the by-election.
He said the MFP, which has vowed to play the role of a "proactive" opposition party, is refusing to cave in on the quota issue, and insists the heads of the House committees are vital to keeping the government in check.
The MFP is involved in a tug-of-war over these roles on six House committees: law, justice and human rights; power distribution and local and special administrations; labour; counter-corruption; transport; and budget accountability.
The MFP and the Prachachat Party are embroiled in a dispute over the top job on the law committee. It is also wrangling with the Bhumjaithai Party over the power distribution and labour committees; and it is tussling with Pheu Thai over the counter-corruption, transport and budget accountability committees.
Mr Wisut said Move Forward has made it clear that committee chairs play an integral role in monitoring the government's performance.
He said he tried in vain to convince the party that committee members were just as effective in getting the job done, as they are also authorised to call individuals to testify and review documents. "I think a compromise is in order," he said.