The Pheu Thai Party said they will move forward in pushing for a new constitutional drafting committee to amend the entire charter, which will continue to cause a rift between the party and its opposition, its statement read on Thursday
Forming a new constitutional drafting committee to amend the entire charter is the only way forward, as trying to amend the clauses would require a one-third vote from the senate and it is unlikely the senators would vote themselves out, according to the Pheu Thai Party.
The party also said that the Move Forward Party (MFP)’s proposal to quickly amend constitutional clauses related to the senate, specifically its ability to vote for the next prime minister, is unattainable.
MFP opted out on Monday from the motion to revise only Section 256 of the constitution which would allow them to set up a committee to draft a new charter. Instead, they wanted to amend the sections related to the role of the senate and the first two sections related to the monarchy.
The MFP then said on Wednesday that they will move to limit or even eliminate the role of the senate when the issue of rewriting the charter enters its second reading in parliament.
Sompong Amornvivat, the Pheu Thai party leader, and the chief opposition whip, Suthin Khlangsaeng, said that the formation of the current senate is undemocratic.
Suthin added that the party won the previous election but could not form a government because of the senators’ power.
If they continue to be in power, they will also interfere with the next election; therefore, there is no reason why the party would want the fully appointed senate to hold on to such power.
Other members of the Pheu Thai party said they are looking to get rid of the senate’s power to vote for a prime minister and amend the constitution so that there will not be another outsider prime minister that does not even represent any political party.
Wattana Muangsook, the Pheu Thai’s strategist, also said that adding MFP’s amendment to the senate power could also be against the law as many Pheu Thai MPs have already filed for the motion to revise Section 256.
