House dissolution an option : Phumtham

 

In his interview to The Nation, Phumtham said that the crisis originated from the court’s own one-sided interpretation of the charter.

 

“The power to amend the charter belongs to Parliament and no organisation should interpret the laws to expand its scope of power. This has become a crisis of conflict between two institutions – Parliament and the judiciary – who interpret the charter differently,” Phutham told The Nation.

 

Phumtham said Pheu Thai had already tried its best to avoid confronting the judiciary by not pushing ahead to pass the Article 291-amendment bill in the third reading after the Constitutional Court ruled that the entire charter rewrite could not be done without first holding a public referendum. The 291-amendment bill sought to set up a charter-drafting assembly to rewrite the entire charter.

 

Since the judiciary and legislative branch interpret the charter differently, Pheu Thai might have to seek a second opinion from the public and other organisations, Phumthai said.

 

“There is no such thing as an instant formula in politics. We need to find the best way out of the crisis without hindering a possible solution just because we fear the outcome. We may have to hold public debates with experts or perhaps hold a public referendum. We may even have to dissolve the House,” Phumtham said.

 

He added that it was not the government’s intention to dissolve the House. “However, if there is no way out of the crisis and the only option left is House dissolution, then we must do it,” he added.

 

He said it was not always certain that the government would win a snap election after dissolution of the House, but it would define more clearly where the support of the people lay on the issue. 

 

It was normal in a democracy for the majority to have the last say when facing this kind of deadlock, said added.

 

“If our House seats were to dwindle after an election, we would review our position, but at the same time, we could get overwhelming backing from the people, then the Constitutional Court would have to review its stand,” Phumtham said.

 

He denied that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a Skype video call to a meeting of Pheu Thai MPs to ask them to get ready for a House dissolution. 

 

Thaksin simply asked Pheu Thai MPs to regularly visit their constituents during the break of Parliament, he said.

 

The Pheu Thai secretary-general said impeachment of Constitutional Court judges might be an option for ending the crisis of conflict between the two branches of power, but Pheu Thai had not yet considered the proposal.

 

Although the plan to amend the charter had resulted in the stand-off, Phumtham insists that the amendments must be carried out because it was one of Pheu Thai’s party promises during its election campaign.