The coalition parties in the government have agreed on a single version of the motion to initiate constitutional amendment, which includes details of the formation of a panel to write a new charter but leaves the Senate untouched.
Government deputy chief whip Chinnaworn Bunyakiat said on Thursday the coalition had settled on one motion to amend the constitution. It would be forwarded to parliament after the Council of State, the government's legal adviser, finishes its review of the wording, he said.
The government-sponsored motion would allow the formation of a 200-member charter-drafting panel made up of 150 elected writers, the Democrat MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat said, adding senators, university presidents and the student movement would choose 50 others.
The charter writing panel would have 240 days to complete the job, and the draft constitution would go to a referendum if parliament votes to reject it.
The motion to be submitted to parliament was in accord with the opposition-sponsored version, as it would leave the role of the Senate in the hands of the constitution writers, Mr Chinnaworn said.
Amendment of the constitition is possible only after Section 256 is amended to open the door for a new committee to be set up to write it.
The opposition camp submitted its motion to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai on Aug 17.
The looming controversial issue is the future of the Senate. The Move Forward Party has vowed to curb the Senate's power, or even get rid of the upper house, and has distanced itself from the other opposition parties' motion.
The present constitution gives extensive power to senators, all non-elected, including entitling them to vote during the selection of the prime minister.
Although the coalition parties will support a joint motion which leaves the Senate untouched, members of the Democrat Party remain defiant in wanting to limit the role of senators.
Democrat MP Thepthai Senpong, of Nakhon Si Thammarat, said he was canvassing support from other party members to push for the change of Section 272 to sideline the upper house from the process of electing a prime minister.
The Democrats will meet on Monday to decide on the issue.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has defended the need for the Senate, but said he was not opposed to other coalition parties making a move to curb the power of the senators.
The charter amendment process was set in motion after students kicked off a series of protests against the government last month. One of their demands was to rewrite the present constitution, which was enacted by the previous government of coup-leader Gen Prayut.
