That's only in theory and in the world of optimists. In reality, the new senators do not inspire hope that the country is heading toward a stable future with proper democratic development.

Most of the new senators are factional and affiliated with political parties or related to politicians. In fact, the new Senate has already been dubbed the Upper House of Spouses or "Upper Household", which doesn't sound too much of an exaggeration.

The new line-up of senators bids fair to serve the political agenda and objectives of Thai Rak Thai Party very well. Many of them are in fact former party members with unflinching obedience to the currently inactive caretaker prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

What hope is left that the country can get back on the right track through promised constitutional amendments and political reforms, now that Thai Rak Thai has firm control over the House of Representatives and the Senate?

The Senate, with supporters of Thai Rak Thai forming a comfortable majority, will be another rubber-stamp institution, though there remain enough independent members with the public interest at heart to be a serious nuisance to the government.

If there is any sign of hope left, it is the probable inability of Thai Rak Thai to have a full House of 500 members, even with the election re-runs in southern provinces today. The voters there are expected to say "No" again to Thai Rak Thai candidates, and that includes possibly tearing up ballots as a gesture of protest.

If Thai Rak Thai candidates again fail to muster 20 per cent of the total ballots today, there will be more rounds of voting together the exploration of shady ways to somehow force open the House whether or not it has the quorum of 500 members required by the Constitution.

Thai Rak Thai legal luminaries are working overtime to do just this before May 2, the deadline set for the House to convene and elect a new prime minister. Thaksin is particularly anxious because failure to achieve this could spell trouble for his political future.

With more rounds of voting expected after today, the entire process is looking more and more like a sham for Thai Rak Thai to prolong its hold on power. Thaksin and his cronies don't seem to care about public opinion and criticism. They even thank their lucky stars for having the Election Commission and the Constitutional Court on their side.

The most interesting aspect of the whole sham is how Thaksin can get the House functioning. It is already a sure bet that the party can have only 99 party-list members in place. Without shameless means and wily legal interpretation, none of Thaksin's hopes will materialise.

With this shortcoming, it is highly unlikely that Thai Rak Thai will seek the blessings of the country's highest institution for the House opening, as is traditional.

Come May 2, the pro-democracy alliance is expected to organise another massive rally and street demonstration to tell Thaksin and his cronies again that they no longer have the legitimacy to hang around without full membership of the House. That will be a crucial point of confrontation between Thaksin and the uprising against his leadership.

The actions and decisions of the Election Commission are other things that could lead to widespread public anger. If it decides to invalidate some senators for Bangkok for their participation in the rallies against Thaksin, there is likely to be uproar over extreme prejudice in performing its duty.

Selective police action against leaders of the anti-Thaksin alliance could further inflame public anger at the government. With the caretaker Cabinet performing no better than a lame duck with little or no credibility, the prevailing crisis will get worse whatever the outcome of the election.

The Election Commission has long been a target of public criticism and strong displeasure for its role in assisting politicians in power. It has been quick to certify the elections of House members without bothering to investigate whether there was any wrongdoing such as vote-buying or other shady practices.

What's more, it has been slow to determine whether Thaksin violated electoral law on a number of occasions, always coming up with pretexts such as insufficient evidence and at times whitewashing his actions, including dubious campaign promises.

Whether any person or party can break the current political impasse remains uncertain. With Thaksin acting as the puppet master of the entire Cabinet, there is no hope of a stable political future.

This is a political scam of a sort we have never experienced. It will drag on for a while, as long as Thai Rak Thai is unable to present an acceptable choice as an interim prime minister to oversee reforms and changes.

Oh yes, there is one other possible flashpoint: if the police arrest the alliance leaders before they give themselves up, that could lead to unforeseen consequences. Or could they in fact be foreseen after all, to lead to a state of emergency and a widespread crackdown on dissenters?

Sopon Onkgara