Parliament yesterday voted in favour of amending its meeting regulations to allow representatives from the civil sector to join a parliamentary committee tasked with vetting charter amendment bills.
In their joint sitting, the House of Representatives and the Senate voted 415 to 185, with three abstentions, to approve in principle the change proposed by People's Party list-MP Parit Wacharasindhu.
Under the current regulation, a joint parliament committee tasked with scrutinising charter amendment bills that pass the first reading consists solely of parliament members.
Mr Parit said the change would allow political parties and senators to nominate specialists to participate in the deliberation process and ensure a comprehensive review of the proposed amendments.
The revised regulation would also align with the regulations for scrutiny of other legislation drafts which allow non-parliament members to take part and therefore promote wider participation, he said.
MPs and senators expressed mixed opinions on the proposed change, with the discussion revolving around the requirement that one-third of the scrutiny committee members be representatives from the civil sector.
Those who opposed the change argued that it could allow an entire scrutiny committee to be made up of non-parliament members, which would undermine the role of lawmakers.
Senator Pisit Apiwattanapong expressed disagreement and raised concerns about how representatives from the civil sector would be selected.
He questioned whether the process could be manipulated for political purposes.
However, the process descended into chaos when Senator Ruchu Kaewlai nominated Dr Premsak Piayura, Lcdr Wutthipong Pongsuwan, Pol Col Kob Atchanakitti, Pisit Apiwattanapong and Sitthikorn Thongyot as the Senate's representatives on the scrutiny committee.
The nominations were challenged by Senator Thewarit Maneechai who put forward an alternative group of candidates: Nanthana Nathawaropas, Prapat Pintoptaeng, Pornchai Wittayalertpan, Weerayut Soithong and Sunthon Pruekpipat.
Ms Nanthana said that the Senate normally sidelined minority members and urged parliament president Wan Muhamad Noor Matha to bear this in mind.
Mr Wan Noor then ordered a 30-minute break to allow the senators to work out the matter.
After the break, the Senate revised its nominations and proposed Dr Premsak, Lcdr Wutthipong, Pol Col Kob, Mr Pisit and Mr Pornchai as the committee representatives.