Nikorn Chamnong, secretary to the joint House-Senate committee on the referendum bill, on Sunday warned the Pheu Thai Party to compromise on the size of majority needed for a charter referendum to pass, or the "people's charter" might not materialise.
He said the party should consider a half-way proposal which is likely to be accepted by coalition partners such as his own party and the Bhumjaithai Party instead of sticking to simple majority rule.
Mr Nikorn, chief strategist of the coalition Chartthaipattana Party, said if the House and the Senate fail to reach a conclusion, the referendum bill will be suspended for 180 days. After that, if the House stands its ground on a simple majority requirement, the bill can pass.
However, even if the bill is enacted, the charter rewrite process will face resistance from the Senate, which could decline to cooperate in the future charter rewrite process, he said.
A charter amendment proposal requires the support of one-third of senators, or 67 votes, to pass. "The Senate's support is crucial. If we don't compromise, the 'people's charter' will not come to fruition," he said.
His remarks came after Pheu Thai's legal expert Chousak Sirinil disagreed with the half-way proposal and insisted on simple majority rule.
The Lower House has argued a simple majority of participating voters would be enough to pass a referendum on the government's plan to rewrite of the constitution. The Upper House favours a double majority, meaning at least 50% of registered voters must cast ballots and at least 50% of those votes must be in favour for the referendum to pass.
Mr Nikorn has proposed a "one and a half layer" majority, somewhere between a simple majority and a double majority. The half-way proposal is floated as a way to reconcile differences between MPs and the senators on the size of majority needed to pass a charter referendum.
The referendum bill, endorsed by the House, changed the double-majority rule to make it easier for referendums to pass. However, when the bill reached the Senate, the Upper House reverted back to the original requirements.
When the bill returned to the House, the House on Oct 9 voted 348 to zero to reject the Senate's push to reinstate the double majority. In the wake of that decision, a joint House-Senate committee, of which Mr Nikorn is secretary, was formed to iron out differences between the two Houses.
