THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Senators' role in choosing PM 'cannot be revoked as NCPO order still in effect': CDC.

Senators' role in choosing PM 'cannot be revoked as NCPO order still in effect': CDC.

The Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) said that it had finished studying the draft of Constitution amendment proposals and submitted the report to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai, just before the Parliament’s ordinary session meeting in November.

The commission, which is chaired by government chief whip and Palang Pracharat MP Wirat Rattanaset, has been working for one month to study six agendas submitted by MPs of both government coalition and the opposition.
One of the major topics that the CDC studied was the amendment of Section 256 and the establishment of a constituent assembly to draft a whole new Constitution, as proposed by Chiang Mai MP and Pheu Thai leader Sompong Amornwiwat. The CDC said the proposal could be either constitutional or unconstitutional, explaining that in the latter scenario the Constitution is a public law and cannot be re-drafted from the ground up, while the 2017 Constitution mentions nothing about drafting a new constitution, but only suggests amending the existing one on a section-by-section basis.
Another topic being studied is the organising of a referendum. The CDC said that the referendum should be organised after the third reading of the amended Constitution is complete or before Parliament approves the draft. “While there are still no laws on the holding of a referendum, it can be organised under Section 166 of the Constitution which allows the National Legislative Assembly to ask the people whether they want to draft a whole new Constitution or not,” it said.
Regarding the issue of the constituent assembly being denied a mandate to amend the Constitution in the sections relating to the King’s power, the CDC has varied opinions but most of them were against curbing the constituent assembly’s power.
The CDC also said that it disagreed with the proposal to revoke sections 270 and 271, which stipulate the power of senators in monitoring the country’s reform, and Section 272, which gives senators a say in choosing the candidate for prime minister. “The cancellation of these sections, especially 272, could be problematic in practice because the order of National Council for Peace and Order is still in effect,” said the CDC.

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