- Photo: The Nation/ANN
BANGKOK: Reporters at Parliament said that on Thursday (Dec 11) joint sitting to consider the charter amendment bill in its second reading, article by article, MPs voted on Section 256/28 and rejected the recommendation of the majority on the vetting committee.
The committee had proposed that future constitutional amendments be approved by a simple majority of the joint sitting, but the meeting instead opted to revert to the requirement that at least one-third of senators support any amendment.
Several Bhumjaithai Party MPs joined the vote to overturn the committee’s majority position.
This prompted Nattapong Ruangpanyawut, leader of the People’s Party and opposition leader in the House of Representatives, to invoke parliamentary regulations allowing for a new vote by roll call when the margin is fewer than 25 votes, and he requested that the meeting count the votes again by name.
During the roll call, it emerged that several Bhumjaithai MPs were absent from the chamber.
Others, including Chaichanok Chidchob, Buri Ram MP and secretary-general of Bhumjaithai, voted against the committee majority. Government coalition MPs also cast their votes in the same direction as Bhumjaithai.
People’s Party leaders were summoning their MPs to sign a motion under Section 151 of the Constitution to initiate a no-confidence debate with a vote at 8pm.
Reporters at Parliament said the extraordinary joint sitting entered its second day of deliberations on the draft constitutional amendment bill, which has already passed scrutiny by the parliamentary committee.
The meeting proceeded to consider Section 256/28, which sets out the voting threshold required to approve a new constitution drafted by the committee.
The committee’s original proposal required approval by more than half of all members of both Houses combined.
However, minority members of the committee from the Senate camp proposed tightening the rule by stipulating that any new constitution must also win the support of at least one-third of senators.
Parit Wacharasindhu, a party-list MP from the People’s Party and a member of the committee majority, took the floor to make what he called a final appeal to colleagues who might be inclined to back the minority proposal.
He argued that the draft article did not strip the Senate of its powers, but instead created a new approval mechanism to be applied after a fresh constitution had been fully drafted and before it was sent to a referendum.
The model, he said, respects the principle of “one person, one vote” equally for MPs and senators as members of the National Assembly.
Parit went on to address concerns that dropping the one-third Senate approval rule would weaken checks and balances over constitutional change.
While MPs and senators have different roles, he said, both are ultimately subordinate to the people.
A new charter cannot come into force merely on the say-so of Parliament because it must first be endorsed by the public in three separate referendums.
“So if MPs are the accelerator and senators are the brake, we must not forget that the owner of the car is the people, and they should be the ones to decide,” he said.
“I believe that if we proceed in line with the committee majority’s proposal, the ones who will ultimately decide whether this draft constitution meets the country’s needs are the people, whose voice is more powerful than that of any MP or senator.
I urge members to stand with the committee majority,” Parit concluded.
When the vote was taken, 606 members cast ballots.
A majority of 312 voted in favour of the minority committee proposal to require the backing of at least one-third of senators, while 290 supported the original wording proposed by the committee majority, and six abstained.
Nattapong, a party-list MP from the People’s Party, immediately rose to demand a new vote, citing parliamentary rules that allow a recount when the margin is under 30 votes.
This triggered a fresh vote by roll call. - The Nation/ANN
