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Phraya Udomphongphensawat said: "As for the person approved by His Majesty, if this House does not find him agreeable, can the House choose a new one? Will we choose from amongst the royal house of the Chakri or someone else?"
The President of the Constitution Drafting Subcommittee stated: "Please consult the Palace Law, in which a line [of succession] has already been designated. Normally, a choice must be made in accordance with the Palace Law. Everyone in this House can say confidently that absolutely none of us would want to choose a member of a different dynasty as a monarch. It is written like this because it, at one point, means the Monarch can choose an heir to the throne without having to pay attention to the provisions contained in the Palace Law. According that which is said in the Palace Law, a line [of succession should be followed], that is, the choice should go to the first, second, third, or fourth in the line. But there can be, for instance, someone who should not become the lord of the land. Accordingly, [the choice] needs to be accompanied by the approval of the House of Representatives. This is not a new thing. We are adopting [a principle] that the lord of the land of Siam ascends the throne upon invitation by the public,[1] just like [the concept of] "various groups of people coming together[2] and proclaiming [a king]", which is opposed to [the concept of] the lord of the land succeeding to the throne by virtue of the powers derived from the heavens as believed in some of the foreign countries during some periods. There is no such thing in our tradition. Our tradition has it that a monarch ascends the throne as the public invites him to assume the kingship. It is stated that [the choice needs to be] accompanied by the approval of the Representatives [because] this House represents over 11 million citizens."
- ↑ Literally, "If we are adopting [a principle] that [we] will choose [a] lord of the land of Siam to ascend the throne by an invitation of the public".
- ↑ A traditional concept of kingship in Siam. As recorded in historical documents, these groups of people were actually groups of royal, governmental, and ecclesiastical dignitaries. For example, a list of the people summoned to form an assembly which proclaimed Chulalongkorn king can be found in Damrongrachanuphap (1929, pp. 19–22).
