Parliament passes four charter-change provisions
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Parliament yesterday approved draft provisions of the charter amendment bill in four successive votes, bringing the debate on the second reading of the legislation nearer to completion.
After 14 days, debate on draft laws relating to the establishment of a Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) as proposed by the government is complete, while the deliberation of additional clauses proposed by parliamentarians is scheduled for Monday.
Article 291/16 drew heavy criticism from some lawmakers yesterday, because it allows the Cabinet to propose the establishment of a new drafting assembly in the event that the CDA-drafted charter is dropped.
Many Democrats and senators said the constitution-drafting process should be ended in the event that the draft is dropped, as a Constitution is worthy of respect and cannot be scrapped easily.
“If we leave the possibility of a charter rewrite open, this Constitution will not last long. One day, the ruling party becomes the opposition, and the opposition of today becomes the government; it might use your rules today and rewrite the charter. And we don’t know what that would look like,” Senator Surachai Liengboonlerschai said.
Senator Montien Boontan proposed a national referendum before the CDA is set up, as well as a ban on a new round of charter drafting for five years, to prevent unnecessary charter rewriting and to give people time to learn about their Constitution.
Pheu Thai MP Samart Kaew-meechai, chairman of the ad hoc panel on charter amendment, said a new CDA could be set up to continue the drafting process only if the initial CDA is unable to finish the job in time; if fewer than half the members remain; or if the charter draft produced by the CDA includes prohibited content. A new charter rewrite cannot be proposed simply because the draft fails in a national referendum, the MP said.
Prohibited content would include changes to the country’s political system of constitutional monarchy, changes to its single-state status and changes to any clause contained in the chapter on the monarchy in the 2007 Constitution.
Article 291/16 passed with 346:88 votes. Article 291/14, which prescribes the process by which the Parliament president proposes the referendum-approved charter draft for Royal endorsement, was passed by a vote of 338 to 96, following what was seen as a surprisingly quick debate of less than two hours.
Some 20 minutes later, Article 291/15, which prescribes the means of disbanding the CDA, came up and was passed by a vote of 344 to 88. Article 291/17, which states that the Parliament secretariat shall serve as the secretariat for the CDA, was passed by a vote of 354 to 72.
