Thai coalition parties agree on amending constitution based on 1997 charter

By Xinhua,

Bangkok : Coalition parties in Thailand’s government have agreed on using the abrogated 1997 version as a model to amend the current 2007 Constitution, local media reported Tuesday.


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Samart Kaewmeechai, secretary to the government whips coordination committee said Monday that coalition parties in the government led by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej will propose a motion for amendment before the Parliament by the end of this month and the charter rewrite is expected to be completed by September, according to newspaper The Nation.

Samart said that after the Parliament accepts the amendment motion for deliberation, a committee will be set up consisting of about 60 members to deal with the amendment.

The panel will include MPs, senators, academics and representatives from non-governmental organizations.

The panel will be established by the Parliament before the current parliamentary session ends on May 19, he said. The Parliament reconvenes in August and the final reading of the amendment draft is likely to pass in September, he said.

Samart insisted the coalition’s amendment bid had nothing to do with the electoral fraud cases against three of its partners, which could lead to party dissolution if found guilty by the Constitution Court.

It has been agreed that only the two first chapters of the current charter, which involve general provisions and the monarchy, would be retained, while extensive changes will be made based on the model of the 1997 constitution, which was abrogated following the Sept. 19, 2006 military coup that ousted the former elected government led by Thaksin Shinawatra.

The biggest ruling party People Power Party, led by PM Samak, has been calling on amendments to the current constitution, which they said was a work of the junta and aimed at undermining powers of political parties and the government.

Critics of the government, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), have already threatened to collect signatures required to seek impeachment of the MPs who support amending the charter.

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