"The ongoing political crisis can be attributed to one root cause - politicians failing to uphold ethical standards," Jaran Pakdithan-akul said.

Jaran, who is the spokesman for the three head judges trying to resolve the political crisis, said politicians should be accountable ethically, as well as for their job performance.

Article 77 of the Constitution prescribed the enactment of ethical standards for elected office holders but incumbent politicians had failed to enforce the provision, the judge said.

If political reform was to work, it would be necessary to amend the provision with a clause requiring all elected office-holders to pass an ethical evaluation or review before assuming office, he said.

This would ensure tangible enforcement of political ethics and prevent rogue politicians from stirring up trouble.

In other suggestions, the judge said the elected Senate should be scrapped in order

to revert back to an appointed one.

The Senate elections failed to ensure senators who were not linked to political parties and appointed senators might be better at supervising independent organisations, he said.

The public should debate the appointment process for senators before finalising a decision on the issue, he said.

In regard to the flawed selection process for office holders of independent organisations,

he said the composition of selection committees should be modified to ensure equal

representation of government and opposition representatives.

Under existing procedures, each selection committee is made up of members representing the judiciary, academia and political parties, he said.

The present arrangement had a loophole for the government, which commands the parliamentary majority, to dominate the selection process via political parties, he said.

The country's judges have been trying to sort out the political

crisis since His Majesty the King urged them to tackle the "mess" a month ago.

Budsarakham Sinlapalavan

The Nation