A charter amendment bill proposed by opposition parties to revise Section 256 to pave the way for the setting up of a charter drafting assembly (CDA) did not go against a Constitutional Court ruling, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday.
The court ruled that an amendment to Section 256 of the constitution would involve replacing the current charter, in which case a referendum before and after the charter is rewritten would be required.
However, Mr Wissanu said that the referendum bill is still being deliberated by parliament.
"There is no problem. Amending Section 256 requires a long process with three readings in parliament, with lapses of time between each reading as required by law," Mr Wissanu said.
As for the referendum bill, deliberation is almost finished with only a few sections left. Afterwards, it will be submitted for royal endorsement, he said.
It will take time before the opposition's charter amendment bill is passed by parliament and put to a referendum, Mr Wissanu said.
Therefore, the opposition's charter amendment bill is not against the Constitutional Court's ruling, Mr Wissanu said.
House Speaker Chuan Leekpai said that parliament will convene on June 22-24.
On June 22, it will deliberate a backlog of legislative bills, including the referendum bill and a narcotics bill.
On the following day, it will proceed with charter amendment motions submitted by both the government coalition parties and opposition parties, Mr Chuan said.
Responding to criticism that the coalition parties wanted charter amendment motions to be considered first, Mr Chuan said he is responsible for prioritising items on parliament's agenda.
Parliament must finish deliberation of a backlog of bills first before proceeding with charter amendment motions, Mr Chuan said, stressing that deliberation of the referendum bill cannot be delayed.
He also said the government coalition and opposition parties are expected to table their charter amendment motions today and all the motions will be put on the agenda for consideration at the same time.
Pita Limcharoenrat, leader of the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP), said his party MPs agreed that the current coup-installed constitution should be abrogated to allow people to elect a CDA to draw up a new one.