Three referendums are deemed necessary for a complete rewrite of the 2017 constitution, according to Nikorn Chamnong, the secretary of the joint House-Senate panel on the referendum bill.
This statement directly counters the claim made by People’s Party list MP Parit Wacharasindhu, who suggested that only two referendums would be needed, a point he believed was backed by Parliament President Wan Muhammad Noor Matha during a recent discussion.
Nikorn emphasised that a Constitutional Court ruling from March 2021 mandates the government to conduct no fewer than three rounds of referendums for a comprehensive charter rewrite. This requirement remains unchanged despite any discussions between Wan and Parit, who chairs the House Committee on Political Development, Mass Communication, and Public Participation.
Parit initiated the meeting with Wan to explore the possibility of expediting the referendum process. He hoped to have a new constitution drafted by a charter-drafting assembly (CDA) in place before the next General Election. Parit argued that reducing the number of referendums to two would be necessary to meet this timeline.
“The meeting can’t lower the number of referendums because the court ruling applies to Parliament… the Parliament president would face a complaint if he bows to pressure for him to put charter amendment bills on the agenda prematurely.”
Nikorn reminded the People’s Party of the previous attempt to amend the charter, where its predecessor, the Move Forward Party, failed to establish the CDA in 2021. The military-appointed Senate had, at that time, expressed concerns about potential charter violations and sought a court ruling before the bill’s third reading.
Nikorn warned that similar blocking efforts might occur at the first reading this time, potentially delaying the charter rewrite process further.
Following his meeting with Wan, Parit expressed his intention to encourage party MPs to resubmit a charter amendment bill. This move would allow the government, opposition, and Senate whips to reconsider the number of referendums required for the charter amendment.
Parit stated that he possessed new information that might persuade the whips that two rounds of referendums would suffice. He argued that the 2021 court ruling did not specify the exact number of referendums necessary. It merely stipulated that a referendum must precede any charter rewrite.
Therefore, he believed it was reasonable to assume that two rounds would be adequate, reported Bangkok Post.
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