A joint sitting of MPs and senators deliberating charter amendment bills was adjourned on Thursday due to a lack of a quorum with the absence of MPs from the ruling Pheu Thai Party seen as a strategic move to prevent its bill from being rejected.
The meeting began at 9:30am and Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha ordered a quorum check, revealing only 204 parliamentarians present, which was less than half of the combined number of MPs and senators required.
At least half of all 500 MPs and 200 senators are required for a quorum.
This prompted Mr Wan to adjourn the meeting until 9.30am on Friday.
The charter amendment bills, proposed by People's Party (PP) MP Parit Wacharasindhu and Pheu Thai MP Wisut Chainaroon, aimed to amend Section 256 of the constitution to establish a charter-drafting assembly to draw up a new constitution.
Before the meeting began, MPs of the Bhumjaithai Party, a government coalition member, staged a walkout in protest.
They argued the charter amendment process could breach the constitution, citing a Constitutional Court ruling in 2021 that a public referendum is required before initiating the charter drafting process.
Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul said the party is not trying to obstruct Pheu Thai's bid to write a new constitution but merely following the court's ruling.
In 2021, the court ruled the public must approve any move to amend the entire charter, and if that first referendum is approved, another must be held to see if people consent to the new content.
The adjournment came after Sen Premsak Piayura proposed an urgent motion, requesting a ruling from the Constitutional Court on whether parliament could amend the constitution without holding a referendum first.
The motion triggered a heated debate among MPs and senators.
Pakornwut Udompipatskul, a PP list-MP, said the party disagreed with the motion because only the parliament president has the authority to add the motion to the agenda.
He insisted parliamentarians have the authority to amend the constitution.
"Amending the constitution is an urgent matter to confirm the authority of parliamentarians.
"If they do not dare to carry out their duties, they should not offer themselves to represent the people," he said.
Mr Premsak then requested another quorum check, which showed that only 180 parliamentarians had inserted their ID cards for attendance.
Mr Parit protested, saying Pheu Thai had 140 MPs and his party had 140 MPs, making it illogical for only 180 parliamentarians to be present.
Pheu Thai MP Julapun Amornvivat defended their absence, saying that MPs had the right to decide whether to be present for a quorum check.
But Mr Parit said that since Pheu Thai had proposed the charter amendment bill, its MPs should be present to support it.
Pheu Thai MP Sutin Klungsang explained that Pheu Thai feared its bill would be rejected due to a potential conflict with the court's ruling.
Therefore, the party decided to skip the meeting to prevent a quorum.
Mr Sutin said Pheu Thai supported Mr Premsak's motion to seek a court ruling first.
"Since the motion could not be moved up the agenda, Pheu Thai resorted to the strategy of non-participation to force the adjournment and keep the bill in parliament," he said.
Somkid Chueakong, deputy secretary-general of the prime minister, criticised the PP for trying to go ahead with the charter amendment process.
He said Pheu Thai agreed with Mr Premsak's motion requesting a court ruling on the matter, which should take no more than two weeks.
"The PP should know that if they insist on going ahead, they will face a cliff lying ahead.
"But if we wait for a Constitutional Court ruling for no more than a month, there is still a chance to go forward," Mr Somkid said.