Pheu Thai to discuss charter changes
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National drafting assembly to be proposed; bills to be tabled when Parliament reconvenes
Key members of the ruling Pheu Thai Party will hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss a plan to amend the 2007 Constitution.
Pheu Thai MPs are waiting for Parliament to reconvene so they can deliberate new legislation as well as bills to amend the charter, party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said.
Party-list MP Weng Tojirakarn said earlier that a national assembly would be set up to amend the charter, followed by a referendum on whether voters preferred the current Constitution or the 1997 charter.
The current charter was promulgated in 2007 following the 2006 coup d’etat, which overthrew the Thaksin Shinawatra government.
Pheu Thai, backed by former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has indicated that it prefers the 1997 charter to the current one.
Prompong said the current Constitution, which has been used for the past decade, has many weaknesses and needs to be amended.
In addition, he said, the Pheu Thai Party campaigned on a promise to seek charter amendment during the last election, so there is no grounds for the opposition Democrat Party to try to block the move.
Pheu Thai will also propose setting up Sor Sor Lor 3 – the third national assembly of charter drafters – with members drawn from all 77 provinces, Prompong said.
The first and second national charter-drafting assemblies drew up the 1997 and 2007 constitutions.
The new assembly will comprise academics, representatives of the private sector and civil society organisations, among others.
The charter-amendment effort will be launched after the New Year, the spokesman said.
Critics have warned the government against using the charter-amendment plan to help Thaksin, who fled the country to avoid a two-year jail term for an abuse-of-power conviction.
Prompong denied there was a hidden agenda in the amendment plan.
“We want to do this for everyone, regardless of their political colours,” he said.
Critics and opponents of the Yingluck Shinawatra government say the plan is another attempt to help Thaksin by nullifying crucial articles in the current charter that were added following the 2006 coup.
The government will likely face strong opposition from the Democrat Party and anti-Thaksin civil society organisations, according to political sources.
