FRIDAY, April 19, 2024
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Amended charter given to HM the King, Prayut confirms

Amended charter given to HM the King, Prayut confirms

PRIME Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha confirmed yesterday that he had submitted the amended charter draft for royal endorsement following His Majesty the King’s observations in regard to the monarchy.

“The amendments have nothing to do with governance, rights, freedoms, nor politics. That’s all I can say. Please wait for the royal endorsement,” Prayut said at his weekly news briefing
The move was first revealed by Deputy Premier Wissanu Krea-ngam last Saturday before he officially informed the Cabinet yesterday.
The post-coup Interim Charter stipulates that royal endorsement should take 90 days. 
The charter draft was endorsed in a referendum last August and submitted for royal endorsement in early November. HM the King’s observations were then made and delivered via Privy Council members to the government.
Wissanu said last month the changes would cover Articles 5, 17 and 182 and possibly other related Articles in the charter draft. 
Article 5 deals with handling a crisis via new mechanisms when no provision in the charter is applicable.
Article 17 addresses the authority exercised by the Privy Council to propose a candidate to be Regent to the Parliament when the King does not appoint a Regent while he is not present in the country.
Article 182 says that all laws and royal commands need to be countersigned by a minister.
Following the King’s observations, a special legal committee was appointed by the government to work on the amendments. 
The Interim Charter was amended to allow the PM to reacquire the draft charter. It was also amended to allow the King discretion in regard to the designation of a regent.
Wissanu said yesterday that details of the amendments would be revealed to the public but he did not say when.
“There are a few articles that were amended. I insist that they have nothing to do with rights, freedom, political parties or any politicians. That’s all I can say for now,” he said.

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