PUBLISHED : 29 Aug 2023 at 05:00
The Pheu Thai Party on Monday accepted for consideration a petition by the Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw) group calling for a referendum on rewriting the 2017 constitution.
The petition calls for the new Pheu Thai-led government to organise a referendum to gauge public opinion on iLaw’s proposal to formally elect a new constitution-drafting assembly to rewrite the 2017 constitution.
The group submitted its proposal with the signatures of more than 200,000 people supporting it.
Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew said iLaw’s call aligns with his party’s intentions.
He said Pheu Thai will seek a cabinet resolution during the first meeting of the new government on its proposal to hold a referendum to decide whether or not the majority of the public agrees with the party’s intention to rewrite the charter.
During the petition submission at Pheu Thai’s headquarters on Monday, iLaw stressed it was concerned that public participation wouldn’t be assured in the new government’s bid to rewrite the charter. The petition is an effort to ensure that the public is properly involved in the new constitution, the group said.
Dr Cholnan said if Pheu Thai’s proposal is approved at that first meeting, the new government will seek to amend Section 256 of the constitution to allow the formation of a new charter drafting assembly.
A main opposition party previously sought to amend Section 256, paving the way for the setting up of a charter drafting assembly, but the Senate blocked the attempt.
Pheu Thai secretary-general Chusak Sirinil affirmed that the party has a clear aim to push for the rewriting of the entire constitution, saying he has proposed for the party first to seek to organise a referendum to gauge public opinion on the party’s intention.
Mr Chusak shrugged off concerns raised by some over the financial burden of rewriting the constitution while it could be partially amended.
He said it would be worth it if rewriting the charter best serves the public interest.
He said he agrees that the two key questions that should be asked in such a referendum are whether the charter should be rewritten entirely and should a new charter-drafting assembly be elected to do the job.