The National Legislative Assembly of Thailand ( th, สภานิติบัญญัติแห่งชาติ; ; abrv: NLA) was the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

during the

National Council for Peace and Order The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO; th, คณะรักษาความสงบแห่งชาติ; ; abbreviated ( th, คสช.; )) was the military junta that ruled Thailand between its 2014 Thai coup d'état on 22 M ...

military junta between 2014 and 2019. The NLA was established after the

(NCPO) ratified the 2014 constitution, thus making the NLA the only parliamentary body of Thailand for the period of military rule. The NLA was created to temporarily replace the elected

National Assembly of Thailand The National Assembly of Thailand ( Abrv: NAT; th, รัฐสภา, , ) is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Thailand. It convenes in the Sappaya-Sapasathan, Dusit District, Bangkok. The National Assembly was establishe ...

(NAT) after General

Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; th, ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา, ; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai politician and retired army officer who has served as the Prime Minister of Thailand since he ...

seized power from the civilian caretaker government during the 2013-2014 Thai political crisis. Alongside the NLA, there is another body established by the NCPO to implement political and social reforms, the National Reform Steering Assembly, which replaced the National Reform Council. The NLA was heavily influenced by NCPO. Thus, it functioned as a rubber stamp for the junta rather than the actual legislative body. After the promulgation of the 2017 Constitution, the NAT was reestablished and the NLA was dissolved, albeit pending elections on 24 March 2019.

Composition

The non-partisan NLA at inception was to consist of no more than 220 members appointed from various sectors of the country by the NCPO and approved by the king. Of the 200 initial NLA members, 97 were military officers, (69 on active duty), eight police (four on active duty). The remaining 85 members were former senators, university rectors, and business people. In early-May 2016, an article in the ''

Journal of Contemporary Asia The ''Journal of Contemporary Asia'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering Asian studies. It was established in 1970 and is published 5 times a year by Routledge. The editor-in-chief is Kevin Hewison (University of North Carolina at Chapel ...

'' reported that the average income of the members of the NLA is 32 times the per capita income (US$5,778) in Thailand. The 2014 interim constitution was subsequently amended to enlarge the NLA to 250 members from 220, effective 2 September 2016. The military government appointed 200 NLA members after the coup in May 2014. Twelve resigned, two died, and 31 more were added. To fully populate the NLA, in October 2016, Gen.

submitted a list of 33 new NLA appointees to the king for royal approval. Twenty-eight of the 33 are military or police general officers, most of them serving officers. As legislators they will not receive salaries. Instead, each one is paid a "position allowance" of 71,230 baht per month with an "extra allowance" of 42,330 baht a month. State officials are not permitted to receive salaries from more than one source, but may accept unlimited position allowances and other compensation so long as the compensation is not called "salary". Seven members of the NLA with high rates of absenteeism were investigated by the body and found to be eligible to keep their seats and compensatory allowances. Gen Preecha Chan-o-cha, the younger brother of junta chief Prayut Chan-o-cha, was the worst offender of the seven. He was found to have cast only six votes out of a total 453 roll calls during a six-month period. Assembly bylaws call for members to be removed if they don't participate in more than one-third of all votes during a 90-day period. In June 2018, ''The Nation'' reported that NLA members are paid at least 113,560 baht per month.

References

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External links

National Legislative Assembly
Parliament of Thailand 2014 establishments in Thailand 2019 disestablishments in Thailand

Thai 2014 Thai coup d'état