According to Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai on Tuesday, the government has made significant progress in its efforts to amend the 2017 constitution, with more organizations, including the opposition Move Forward Party ( MFP ), agreeing to have their say on November 2 regarding the ideal charter-drafting process should be.
He was speaking in his power as the president of the government committee tasked with researching and creating new recommendations for holding a referendum on the novel charter-rewriting play.
The Constitutional Court had recently decided that replacing the current contract may be necessary in order to amend Section 256 of the law, which would allow for the establishment of a contract writing legislature. It therefore decided that a vote before and after the contract is redrawn is necessary.
According to Mr. Phumtham, a commerce minister, two sub-commissions have been established under the panel, one to solicit input from several groups and the other to create guidelines for rewriting the charter in accordance with the court’s decision.
He added that diverse groups have already had their opinions heard and that more are prepared to communicate their thoughts and create suggestions. He said that the gathering of people opinions, particularly on the government’s proposal to amend the constitution, has made adequate progress.
A meeting with the sub-committee gathering public views on the proposed constitution act has also been agreed upon by a number of youth organizations, university student clubs, and municipal organizations like the Assembly of the Poor, in addition to the MFP, he said.
He continued,” The two sub-committees are to report back to the main committee once a month about their work progress.”
The chairman of the Senate’s committee on social development and open participation, Senator Wanchai Sornsiri, stated that the committee today anticipates hearing from the government sub-committee gathering people opinions on the charter-amend proposal.
The specifics, according to Mr. Wanchai, include which sections of the law are designated for a revision, the precise make-up of any new mandate writing assembly, and, more importantly, any potential timeline for the amendment.
When Section 272 expires in the first quarter of 2024, according to Senator Wanchai Sornsiri, the charter will probably be trouble-free. ( Photo: Satrabhaya Pornprom )
He expressed optimism that a referendum, which will be held to fully assess public sentiment regarding the government’s proposed charter amendment, do not widen the political polarization in the nation as some had feared.
When the contentious Section 272, which calls for the Senate’s role in co-selection of a perfect minister, expires in the first quarter of next year, in his opinion, the current law may be trouble-free.
The senator stated that there would then be no need to update any other provisions of the charter other than the fact that it is seen by detractors as being a holdover from the military-installed regime.