A warrant for the arrest of Thai Progressive Party MP, Chaiyamparwaan Manpianjit, for rape has not reached parliament, according to House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha.
But once the warrant arrives, parliament will proceed immediately and address it, Mr Wan said.
He said parliament does not need to convene a meeting and vote whether to strip the MP of his parliamentary immunity so he can stand trial, if the arrest warrant was issued by a court.
The parliament president does not need to be consulted, and police can arrest him in parliament.
However, if the warrant was issued by the police, a parliamentary meeting would have to be called to decide on Mr Chaiyamparwaan's status.
If this proves the case, the meeting would be scheduled within 15 days of parliament receiving the warrant from police.
Mr Wan said he had expected the warrant to be sent to parliament on Monday. If a parliament meeting is needed, it would probably be set up next week.
The House Speaker said MPs, being holders of public office, are expected to be more accountable and act with higher moral responsibility than ordinary people.
Also on Monday, Pol Sub Lt Arpath Sukhanunth, secretary-general of the House of Representatives, said Mr Chaiyamparwaan would save parliament the trouble of holding a meeting if he quit as an MP and surrendered to police to fight the charge.
Alleged extortion
The rape allegedly occurred in Chiang Mai on Jan 9 and a warrant was issued for the arrest of Mr Chaiyamparwaan, 35, on Feb 4, according to local media sources.
Authorities found sufficient grounds to proceed with a charge against Mr Chaiyamphawaan. Because of his MP status, police submitted a written request to parliament to allow the MP to be questioned, but no warrant has been sent to parliament as yet.
Procedure dictates that Chiang Mai Police must send the court-approved arrest warrant to the Royal Thai Police (RTP) for acknowledgement first.
According to a source, the warrant only reached the RTP on Saturday. It was expected to arrive at parliament on Tuesday.
Upon the warrant being presented to parliament, the office of parliamentary proceedings will highlight it as an urgent matter.
Meanwhile, Mr Chaiyamparwaan is reported to be in Bangkok but plans to surrender in Chiang Mai before Feb 20, according to a source close to him.
The source said the MP has been subject to extortion by authorities in exchange for dropping the case. The MP refused and subsequently saw a police summons elevated to an arrest warrant.
His legal team denied the rape charge, saying the sex was consensual.
In November 2023, Mr Chaiyamparwaan was expelled from the Move Forward Party, after an internal investigation concluded that he had sexually harassed three assistants.