Charter referendum motion cruises past lower house

The Democracy Monument is seen between two policemen assigned to monitor an anti-government rally on Oct 14, 2021. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
The Democracy Monument is seen between two policemen assigned to monitor an anti-government rally on Oct 14, 2021. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The House of Representatives unanimously voted for an opposition-sponsored motion calling for a referendum on the charter rewrite after the voting was deferred for more than one month.

The motion received 323 supporting votes from MPs with one abstention and seven no votes.

It still needs support from the Senate to turn it into action. The Senate has not scheduled the meeting.

The constitution requires the government to be notified about the motion after it is approved by both the lower and upper houses.

The motion, proposed verbally on grounds of its urgency, calls for the government to hold a public referendum on the charter rewrite. It also suggests the referendum be held on the same day as the next general election.

Voting for the motion was adjourned from the House convention on Sept 15 due to the lack of quorum.

The Senate was appointed by the coup-making National Council for Peace and Order led by then-army chief Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. 

The motion was proposed by the Pheu Thai and Move Forward parties as the opposition cited several flaws in the constitution, including the role of senators in joining MPs to select a prime minister.

Move Forward said on Thursday the party planned to propose to Parliament to add another question in the referendum on whether they want to have an entirely new charter besides the charter rewrite.