Sign-up campaign on charter change to be finished by Jan 20
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A campaign seeking the signatures of 50,000 voters to sponsor a motion on charter amendment is expected to be completed by January 20, an MP from the ruling Pheu Thai Party said yesterday.
“The motion to amend the Constitution should be ready for legislative debate by next month,” said MP Sanguan Pongmanee, who is campaigning for charter changes on behalf of the red shirts.
Sanguan said the gist of the motion was to pave the way for the formation of a Constitution Drafting Assembly by amending the charter’s Article 291 pertaining to rewriting the Constitution.
He said the draft to amend Article 291 had already been finalised, spelling out the details of the CDA.
The CDA should comprise 101 elected charter writers and the deadline to complete the rewrite is 240 days. The 77 CDA seats will be allocated to each province and the remaining 24 seats will include leading figures from the academic circle.
The referendum vote will be organised following the completion of the charter draft.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai MP Apiwan Wiriyachai yesterday said the ruling party had submitted no parliamentary motion for constitutional amendment.
He said the party had nothing to do with the amendment draft to be submitted to the House of Representatives by the red shirts. “MPs may initiate constitutional amendment but the government will not do it,” said Apiwan, a former deputy House speaker.
Apiwan also expressed support for Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung’s stance that it was too early to make moves on constitutional amendment and that the government should now focus on rehabilitation for flood victims in the industrial, agricultural, and residential sectors.
Opposition Democrat MP Jurin Laksanavisit yesterday called on the Pheu Thai-led government to “be brave enough to host” the constitutional amendment. He said the ruling party had made charter change its election promise and therefore it should come forward to take responsibility for the matter.
He also warned that any constitutional amendment for personal benefit could lead to a new round of political conflict.
