The creation of a charter drafting assembly (CDA) cannot proceed until the 180-day suspension period for the public referendum bill has passed, says chief government whip Wisut Chainarun.
Mr Wisut, a list-MP for the ruling Pheu Thai Party, made the clarification after People's Party (PP) list MP Parit Wacharasindhu claimed on Monday that a charter amendment bill paving way for the forming of a CDA would soon be scrutinised by parliament.
On his Facebook, Mr Parit wrote that the parliament president's committee, asked to provide opinions about a charter rewrite, decided that a charter amendment bill related to the setting up of a CDA should be put on the parliament agenda.
Mr Parit said the committee's decision was crucial as the proposed amendment would see two referendums instead of three, saving time and money. A referendum costs around three billion baht to organise.
Mr Parit also hoped this would shorten the charter rewrite process, and a new charter could be produced before the next general election. The charter amendment bill is scheduled for its first reading on Jan 14-15.
While welcoming the possibility of having just two charter referendums, Mr Wisut said that if a charter rewrite push is to materialise, it would have to wait after the 180-day suspension period. The chief government whip said the charter amendment bill could not be deliberated by parliament during the cooling-off period, which needs to be observed after the House and Senate failed to agree on the rules governing holding a charter amendment referendum.
He said he had consulted parliament's legal team and parliament president Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, who insisted the 180-day suspension period needs to lapse before further action can be taken. He added the charter rewrite process is unlikely to be completed before the next election in 2027.
The main opposition party says two referendums are sufficient for the proposed charter rewrite and would not be in violation of a recent Constitutional Court ruling. This would enable the country to have a new constitution before the next election. However, analysts believe otherwise, especially after the disagreement between the House and Senate over the referendum rules.
Wisut: Must wait 180 days
