PUBLISHED : 12 Dec 2023 at 04:42
The Move Forward Party (MFP) on Monday voiced disagreement with the Pheu Thai Party’s plan to seek a fresh ruling from the Constitutional Court on charter referendum issues.
Chaitawat Tulathon, the MFP leader, said on Monday he believed the House of Representatives had full authority to proceed with amending Section 256 of the charter to pave the way for the setting up of a constitution drafting assembly.
He said the court’s ruling on charter amendments in 2021 only suggested that a referendum should be held but did not explicitly state that a referendum was required.
The MFP leader’s remarks came after Phumtham Wechayachai, who chairs the government referendum study panel, said it was considering asking parties to submit the matter to the court for a ruling.
Mr Chaitawat said the MFP initially proposed a referendum for its own merit, not because of the court ruling, and also because an amendment to Section 256 requires support from one-third of senators.
“The Senate also indicated it would insist on a referendum if Section 256 is amended to pave the way for the setting up of a charter writing body. To avoid the amendment plan being bogged down by the Senate, we propose holding a referendum first,” he said.
Although asking the court to rule could provide clarity, the process could be time-consuming, so the most important matter is really how to get the Senate on board with rewriting the charter, added Mr Chaitawat.
Pheu Thai’s secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong said the party would discuss issues surrounding a charter referendum today, including whether the matter should be forwarded to the court.
He said Mr Phumtham would brief the party on the proposals, adding the government was likely to seek only two rounds as each would cost 3-4 billion baht.
Opinions about how many rounds of referendum are required are divided although the court ruled that while parliament has the power to draw up a new charter, the public must first decide whether they actually want a new constitution.
Another referendum must then be held for the people to endorse it.