The main opposition People’s Party (PP) on Monday urged the new government to back section-by-section charter amendment and the drafting of a new constitution to ensure both processes are completed before the next general election.
PP list-MP Parit Wacharasindhu stressed that the need for section-by-section revisions was justified because certain issues need to be addressed immediately and cannot wait for a whole new charter to be written, a process that can take up to two years.
His call came ahead of the Paetongtarn Shinawatra administration’s delivery of its policy statement before parliament on Thursday.
Under the constitution, the government is required to announce its statement to parliament before formally commencing its work. The opposition party has lined up more than 30 MPs to debate the policy statement.
Mr Parit said the party would raise questions concerning the roadmap for the new charter, referendum questions, and whether the government would support a wholly elected charter drafting body.
Based on the government’s draft policy statement, the charter amendment is broadly defined, similar to the reform declared to parliament by the previous Srettha Thavisin administration.
“The fully elected charter drafting body isn’t stated in the policy statement. While Pheu Thai has proposed it before, there is no official confirmation from the government,” he said.
He also expressed concern that, with three referendums on the new charter, the new constitution and its organic laws will likely not be ready before the next polls.
However, he noted that the new government’s and the Senate’s stances on charter amendment will become clear later this month when the PP-sponsored drafts go up for debate.
Three amendment drafts
Before it was dissolved and reborn as the PP, the Move Forward Party proposed three charter amendment drafts seeking to mitigate the impact of the military regime’s orders, prevent future coups and abolish the junta-backed 20-year national strategy.
Of the three bills, one proposes abolishing Section 279 of the charter, which says all announcements and orders of the now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and its leader are lawful and constitutional.
Another seeks to prevent and counter future coups by allowing state officials to disobey orders from those attempting to seize power and prohibit courts from recognising a coup as a means of establishing a legitimate government.
The last bill proposes abolishing the 20-year national strategy and the national reform plan, which fall under Sections 16 and 65 of the constitution.
