“Pornpetch” explains meeting of the Senate on July 8 – confirms the old group must perform their duties until there is a new group

Bangkok, 'Pornpetch' explains the reason for scheduling a Senate meeting on July 8 because the Election Commission has not yet certified the results of the new senators' election. He insists that the old group must perform their duties until a new group is formed. He said that he will consider the law that was returned by the MPs and acknowledge the report. As for 'Somchai's' motion to learn from the new senators' election, the meeting may or may not agree. Mr. Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, President of the Senate, talked about the Senate meeting on July 8, which was seen as inappropriate because the old senators' terms had already expired. He said that this was not the case because it was the current session. The previous session was closed for more than two months. He thought that the Election Commission (EC) would announce the approval of the new senators on July 3. July 3 was the first day of the session, which was the turn of the MPs, so there was a meeting. Therefore, July 8 was the turn of the senators. We had to perform our duties accordingly. If the EC announced the approval of the new senators, we would not be able to perform our duties anymore because when the term expired on May 10, but from May 10, we had been performing our duties continuously until July 3. He thought that was all there was. However, there was still a problem on July 3, which was the opening day of the session, which was already set. The MPs, senators, and the EC knew that July 3 was the opening day of the session. If we don't do it or open it, it's against the law that states that we must continue to perform our duties from May 10 until there is a new set of senators. That's it. We can't do anything fancy. As for the new senators, they think that, in terms of etiquette, the old senators should not work anymore. Mr. Pornpetch said that we are doing what is stated in the constitution, and the parliament must have both MPs and senators. For example, the Senate meeting on July 8 is to consider the matter that the MPs do not agree with t he amendment of the draft bill on measures of the executive branch to prevent and suppress corruption (No. ...) B.E. ... that the Senate has amended and returned to the House of Representatives for consideration. When the House of Representatives disagreed, it was returned to the Senate, which must perform its duties. Therefore, we cannot not perform our duties, and we do not know when the Election Commission will approve the new senators. When asked if he had received any signal from the EC about when the new senators would be approved, Mr. Pornpetch said that we kept asking because the EC had to inform us in advance when it would be. If they knew or had manners, they would have communicated when the approval would be made. But right now, it is clear that on July 8, there will be no approval of the senators. When asked about the case of Mr. Somchai Saengka, a senator, who will propose a motion to learn from the selection of a new set of senators, the president of the Senate said that it is in the manner of considering how to proceed, when the EC will complete the approval of the new set of senators, or if there are any official problems so that the new set of senators can continue working. This is the purpose of the Senate whip's discussion in proposing the motion, but he has not yet seen what Mr. Somchai proposes. The meeting may consider it however the members may agree or disagree. However, we must sympathize with the EC. We want to see if there are any issues that can be helped, so we will proceed. In addition, the Senate meeting will consider matters for information, which is already in accordance with the criteria. 'We insist that we must continue to perform our duties according to the constitution. For example, the senators are still performing their duties, which is not apparent in the media because there are foreign affairs and legal clarifications in various committees. However, the Senate meeting on July 8th is an additional matter because the parliamentary session has been opened. The Senate meetin g on July 9th has been cancelled because we see that there is no agenda that should be considered,' said Mr. Pornpetch. Source: Thai News Agency