The government's two incumbent ombudsmen will keep their jobs for the duration of their terms despite having reduced powers under the new charter, the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) voted on Thursday. Under the new charter ombudsmen will have reduced powers and have to meet higher qualifications than required by the previous charter. NLA member Somchai Sawaengkan said the "set-zero" principle should not apply to every independent agency. Thanee Onla-iad, another NLA member, said there will be a third ombudsman joining the team as stipulated in the new charter. NLA member Klanarong Chantik said if the two ombudsmen were removed, questions on how to compensate them would also have to be dealt with.

Source: Bangkok Post July 29, 2017 01:41 UTC