The Chartthaipattana Party (CTP) voiced support for setting up a charter-drafting assembly to write a new constitution but insisted Chapters 1 and 2 must be left untouched.
CTP director Nikorn Chamnong said on Friday that he agreed with the policy of Pheu Thai Party, the core party forming a new government, to amend the current charter and said the best approach would be to create a new one with the involvement of the public.
However, he said Chapters 1 and 2 must not be revised, and a planned referendum on the charter rewrite must not leave room for any interpretation that these two chapters can be amended.
Chapter 1 contains sections defining Thailand as a single, indivisible kingdom with a democratic regime and the King as the head of state. Chapter 2 contains sections pertaining to the royal prerogatives.
Mr Nikorn's comments came as Pheu Thai posted on Friday on its social media that a charter rewrite was top of its agenda.
The party said it would ask the cabinet at its first meeting to pass a resolution on holding a national referendum on the issue. This would be drafted by the people via a charter-drafting assembly, according to the party.
The Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw) has urged the new government to disclose the questions that would be posed at the planned referendum. Ratchapol Jaemjirachaikul, an iLaw representative, said the group had concerns about these.
He said some of the questions posed during the referendum in 2016 confused people.
ILaw manager Yingcheep Atchanond asked if the charter rewrite could be pursued if Pheu Thai was planning to invite the Palang Pracharath Party and United Thai Nation Party (UTN) to join the coalition.
