The ruling Pheu Thai Party plans to hold talks with its coalition partners next week to discuss how to proceed with charter amendments, Prime Minister's Office Minister Chousak Sirinil said on Thursday.
He said the discussion will cover all issues related to charter amendments following the Senate's decision to retain the current double majority requirement for passing a referendum on charter amendments.
When asked if particular topics would be brought up, Mr Sirinil said he would outline the problems facing the charter amendment process and propose possible solutions to coalition partners for consideration.
The Senate's decision to retain the double majority rule is expected to delay the timeline for a referendum on charter rewrite as a joint committee is likely to be formed to reach an agreement on the size of the majority needed to pass a referendum for the rewrite of the 2017 constitution.
The first referendum round to ask the public if they support a charter rewrite is tentatively scheduled for Feb 2 next year when elections of provincial administrative organisations take place nationwide.
However, Pheu Thai's plan drew a lukewarm response from Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul who said on Thursday there were more pressing issues than rejigging the charter.
According to Mr Anutin, who is the interior minister, flooding which severely hit several northern provinces requires coordinated efforts to alleviate the victims' hardship.
In a related development, a network of civic groups submitted a petition to House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha asking the House to speed up the charter rewrite process.
The petition was received by Muk Sulaiman, Mr Wan Noor's secretary, chief government whip Wisuth Chainarun and People's Party list-MP Parit Wacharasindhu.
The network representatives expressed concerns that a new charter would not be completed by the time the House's term ends following the Senate's move on the referendum rule.
They proposed that a bill to amend Section 256, which would allow for the creation of a charter drafting assembly, be put on the House agenda without seeking public approval first.
They argued that it was the only way to ensure the new charter would be completed in less than three years. The House has two years and eight months until its term expires.