Praise for PM charter vow
Parties welcome Prayut’s gesture
Political parties have welcomed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s pledge to push for constitutional amendments as the House committee studying charter changes has initially agreed to a charter rewriting body being formed to draw up a new constitution.
Deputy Democrat Party leader Nipit Intarasombat, who is also a member of the committee, told the Bangkok Post yesterday that he believed Gen Prayut has been sincere in the charter rewrite push because it is one of the government’s key policies.
“The prime minister has said he will listen to the House committee which has 49 members from various parties.
“He has also told agencies to gather opinions from the public and student protesters. He is eager to hear what they have to say. This is a nice gesture,” Mr Nipit said.
Gen Prayut on Tuesday affirmed to reporters that he supports a charter amendment and the government will present its own version of a charter rewrite bill in the next parliamentary session.
He said yesterday the government will hold forums nationwide next month to gather opinions from younger people. A charter amendment is one of the demands sought by student groups which have held protests in various areas in the country.
Gen Prayut also said he will find time to meet students at one of a series of forums which are held on charter change proposals.
Mr Nipit said that the committee will complete its work in the middle of this month and present the charter rewrite proposals to parliament.
One of the key proposals is to rectify Section 256 of the constitution to make constitutional changes easier.
The section should be altered so an assembly can be established to draft a new constitution — a process which may take up to two years.
Under Section 256, an amendment requires the support of at least onethird of the Senate or 84 senators. Critics have slammed the section as a major hurdle to fixing the charter.
However, political observers said senators will not back the proposed amendments if they could result in the Senate being stripped of its power to vote in a prime minister and/or the current batch of senators being dismissed.
Mr Nipit said that the committee has also agreed that some sections of the constitution should be amended to prepare for an election that might take place before the draft of the new constitution is complete.
In particular, provisions targeted for change are those associated with the voting system such as moving away from the use of a single ballot for both constituency and party-list MPs to two separate ballots, Mr Nipit said.
Chief opposition whip and Pheu Thai Party MP for Maha Sarakham Sutin Klungsang, also a member of the committee, said Gen Prayut’s gesture of support for the charter rewrite push was a good sign.
However, the prime minister must provide more clarity on details regarding the charter rewrite and a specific time frame, Mr Sutin said.
Mr Sutin also said parties in the opposition camp will table their version of a charter rewrite bill to parliament on Aug 15, the same day the House committee will present its charter change proposals.
Mr Sutin added that Pheu Thai has also come up with its version of the bill, although Pheu Thai will meet other opposition partners today to discuss whether they will combine their versions of the bill into a single one.
Democrat Party leader Jurin Laksanawisit said his party has had a clear stance on pushing to amend the constitution from the beginning because it insisted on charter change as a precondition for joining the coalition led by the Palang Pracharath Party.
Mr Jurin agreed that Section 256, which makes charter amendments difficult, should be changed.
He added the party is ready to support charter changes that will improve democracy.
The party has set up a working panel to work on amending the section, Mr Jurin said.
The panel is led by MP Banyat Bantadtan, who is a party adviser.
Mr Jurin added the Democrat Party did not want to be in conflict with others as a push to amend the constitution requires cooperation from MPs, senators and the public.
Chaithawat Tulathon, secretarygeneral of the Forward Party and member of the House committee, said the best way to make amendments is through a drafting assembly and public participation.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s U-turn on constitutional amendment, revealing that the government has prepared its own version of a charter rewrite, is a crucial development for Thai politics, which has seen growing pressure for changes to the military sponsored supreme law.
According to the PM, the government plans to present the rewrite bill, together with the version made by the opposition bloc, in the next parliamentary session. This defies the belief that the ruling Palang Pracharath Party and the government would obstruct the amendment for fear of losing their grip on power.
It has been unanimously agreed that a charter rewrite is unavoidable given the looming political crisis. Charter amendment is one of the three conditions set by students activists, who have staged a series of protests for weeks under the umbrella of Free Youth and Students Union of Thailand and gained significant strength in the political arena.
At the same time, a House panel studying charter amendments under Pirapan Salirathavibhaga has wrapped up its work and will put forward recommendations early next month. There are reports that it will propose an amendment to Section 256 and so pave the way for the formation of a charter rewrite committee.
However, a wait of four to five months for the next parliamentary session as stated by the prime minister is too long. Several observers also see it only as a time-buying tactic by the government to ease political pressure. This should not be allowed to happen. If Gen Prayut is serious about charter amendment, he could kickstart the process immediately after the Pirapan panel submits its recommendations.
Yet the next process is bumpy. It is known the military-sponsored 2017 charter set tough conditions for any rewrite. It requires a minimum 357 votes, which translates as support from more than half the Lower House and, very importantly, one third of the Senate (84 senators).
The latter condition is seen as a major hurdle to fixing the charter, given the unfavourable stance of some key senators.
They include one figure in particular: Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, Senate speaker and the former president of the now-defunct National Legislative Assembly (NLA) who has made it clear he does not want a rewrite and would prefer section-by-section changes. This is not enough as the 2017 charter contains a number of undemocratic elements, such as the Senate’s role that runs counter to elected MPs, and is one cause of the political crisis.
But if Prime Minister Prayut really means it, he must send a signal to the Senate and solicit its support because without it, amendments are impossible.
Gen Prayut, who handpicked all those senators, cannot say that he must respect their independence and has no power to force them.
At the same time, the 250-strong Senate should be brave and respond positively to the people’s wish. Senators must prove that they are free from a conflict of interest and abide by Section 114-5 of the charter that says they are obliged to act with integrity for the sake of public interest.
The ruling party and its coalition must not treat this as a political game. On the contrary, all the parties should take it as their duty to help avert what could be Thailand’s next political crisis.