The Bhumjaithai (BJT) Party has warned that the charter amendment bills proposed by the Pheu Thai Party and the People’s Party (PP) lack protections for Chapters 1 and 2 of the current constitution and risk violating the charter.
A joint sitting of parliament was held on Tuesday to deliberate on three constitutional amendment bills proposed by the PP, BJT, and Pheu Thai. All three seek to amend the constitution by introducing a new Chapter 15/1 concerning the drafting of a new constitution.
Parit Wacharasindhu, a list MP from the PP, explained the core principles of his party’s charter change bill, which proposes the establishment of 135 constitution drafters.
The process would establish a 35-member Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) responsible for drafting the new charter, and a 100-member Constitution Drafting Advisory (CDA) Council to collect public opinions. CDC members would be chosen from party-list-style candidate groups of 17-70 individuals. The entire country would serve as one constituency, where voters elect 70 candidates, from whom parliament would select the final 35 members.
Advisory Council members would be directly elected by voters in each province, with one to five representatives depending on population. Each province would form its own constituency.
Mr Parit said that the PP’s bill maximises public participation while complying with Constitutional Court rulings. It also stipulates that the new constitution must preserve Thailand’s unity as an indivisible kingdom and maintain a democratic system with the King as head of state.
However, Korawee Prisananantakul, a BJT MP for Ang Thong, said that the charter amendment bills proposed by Pheu Thai and the PP carry a significant risk of contravening the Constitutional Court’s ruling. This concern arises from the fact that both bills propose that members of the CDA be directly elected by the people in the initial stage before being shortlisted by parliament. This process may conflict with the Constitutional Court’s decision, which prohibits the direct election of CDA members by the public.
He further noted that neither bill explicitly guarantees that Chapters 1 and 2 of the 2017 Constitution, which concern the indivisibility of the kingdom and the monarchy, will remain untouched. Chapter 1 of the constitution contains sections that define Thailand as a single, indivisible kingdom with a democratic regime and establish the King as the head of state. Chapter 2, meanwhile, outlines royal prerogatives. In particular, the PP’s bill is complex and does not even establish a formal CDA. Instead, it only proposes a 35-member CDC responsible for drafting the new constitution.
Chousak Sirinil, a list MP from Pheu Thai, insisted that Pheu Thai has no intention of amending either chapter.