PPRP won't agree to change to monarchy

PPRP won't agree to change to monarchy

Party confirms it backs charter review

The ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) has declared it will not support any charter amendment proposals seeking to revise provisions relating to the monarchy.

Wirat: iLaw draft still in doubt

Speaking after yesterday's meeting of party MPs, PPRP spokeswoman and Bangkok MP Patcharin Sumsiripong said that while the party has agreed to proceed with charter amendments, the constitution's Chapters 1 and 2 must be left unchanged.

Chapter 1 contains sections which define Thailand as a single, indivisible kingdom and a democratic regime with the King as the head of state. Chapter 2, meanwhile, contains sections which deal with royal prerogatives.

The meeting also discussed preparations for a parliamentary session scheduled for Nov 17-18 to deliberate six charter amendments bills, Ms Patcharin said.

Regarding a move to seek a Constitutional Court review of three charter amendment bills, she said that some party MPs took part in the motion to seek the review out of concern that those proposed charter changes may be unconstitutional.

They had no intention to delay the amendment process, she said.

Government chief whip and PPRP MP Wirat Ratana­sate said coalition parties have agreed that they will vote to accept one of the six bills in the first reading, and then will set up a committee to vet the bill.

Mr Wirat also said that it remains to be seen whether parliament will vote to accept the draft sponsored by the Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw) which includes calls for the abolition of seven organic laws written under the current charter.

The seven laws involve the Senate, the procedures of the Constitutional Court, the Election Commission, the Ombudsman, graft and corruption, state auditing, and the national human rights body.

On Monday, 72 senators and MPs signed a motion to ask parliament to seek a Constitutional Court ruling on the three charter amendment proposals, including the iLaw version.

In the motion proposed by Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn and PPRP MP Paiboon Nititawan, the group said they were concerned the three drafts, which seek to pave the way for the drafting of a new charter, may be unconstitutional.

The motion was signed by 47 senators and 25 MPs, all from the main coalition party, the PPRP, who claim parliament is not authorised to "make" a new charter and the most it can do is to make changes.

Any action to allow the writing of a new charter is deemed unconstitutional, according to the motion.

Mr Paiboon said yesterday that he will propose the motion to parliament after the first reading of the charter amendment bills.

็However, Thepthai Senpong, a former Democrat MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat, said yesterday that a meeting of party MPs has agreed that they will vote against the motion to seek the court ruling on the three drafts.

He said that charter change was a precondition for joining the coalition led by the PPRP, and the Democrats will press ahead with the charter amendment push.

Mr Thepthai insisted that there was no need to seek the court's ruling because the bill sponsored by coalition parties was carefully considered, thus it was not against the constitution. The bill seeks to amend Section 256 to pave the way for a charter drafting body to be set up, he said.

The move to seek the ruling came after parliament was scheduled to scrutinise six such proposals next week. The iLaw-sponsored draft was expected to be tabled for examination later this month.

Yingcheep Atchanont, a representative of iLaw, said that the iLaw-sponsored amendment bill leaves both Chapters 1 and 2 of the constitution untouched.

The bill is primarily aimed at removing the power of the now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order which remains in the charter so that democracy will return to the country, Mr Yingcheep said.

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