Court asked to halt charter change hearings

Four senators yesterday sought a Constitutional Court ruling to disband six ruling political parties and suspend House deliberation of the charter amendment on senatorial selection.

Appointed Senators Kamnoon Sidhisamarn, Somjet Boonthanom, Somchai Swangkarn and elected Senator Surajit Chirawate filed a complaint seeking a court injunction to suspend deliberation of a third reading of the proposed senatorial selection law. They also asked the court to order disbandment of the six parties that pushed for the amendment and deprive the parties’ leaders and executive board of political rights.

Somjet said the attempt to change qualifications of senators would damage the country’s mechanism for checking government power, and was in violation of Article 68 of the Constitution.

He said if government MPs attempted to pass the charter amendment on the third reading without heeding the court’s ruling, they could not say their move was democratic.

Kamnoon said his group’s complaint to the court was different from the one filed by Borworn Yasinthorn, since his group filed the complaint as the bill passed the second reading. The third reading must take place within 15 days.

He said that although the Constitutional Court had earlier ruled the amendment of Provision 291 was not in violation of Article 68, it did not rule in detail which action is considered an attempt to topple state power. 

“We want to know if changing the qualifications of senators is regarded as changing the political and administrative structure,” he said.

Kamnoon said his group did not object to the amendment proposal for election of all 200 senators but they opposed the move to change senators’ qualifications, which they believed would cause the Senate to lose its neutrality. That would greatly affect the appointment of independent agencies, these senators believe.

Democrat Songkhla MP Wirat Kallayasiri also filed a similar petition with the court but did not request the dissolution of the six parties.

Wirat said his party believed the amendment to allow members of political parties or spouses or parents of MPs to become senators would destroy checks and balances.

He said the Democrats wanted to continue the system of appointed senators who would be selected from professional groups, such as doctors, lawyers and non-governmental organisations.

If the charter were amended, three agencies charged with checking the government’s power – the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Constitutional Court and the Administrative Court – would cease to exist, Wirat said.

In a separate development, the government has decided to postpone the mobile Cabinet meeting in Lop Buri scheduled for tomorrow and Friday to facilitate debate of the proposed Bt2.2-trillion loan bill, said Government Spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi.

He said PM’s Office Minister Warathep Rattanakorn had reported to the Cabinet that agencies like the National Economic and Social Development Board, the Budget Bureau and the Finance Ministry were scheduled to present more information at the second-round debate on the borrowing bill during those two days.