ID :
151212
Thu, 11/25/2010 - 14:05
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http://m.oananews.org//node/151212
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First Constitution amendment draft rejected
BANGKOK, Nov 25 - Sitting in full assembly of its upper and lower houses, Thailand's Parliament has rejected -- by a slim margin -- the first of four proposed amendments to the country's Constitution.
The rejected draft was proposed by a top member of the Red Shirt movements circle of leadership, Weng Tojirakarn, which failed to pass its first reading in the joint session of Parliament on Thursday, after less than half voted for it.
Only 222 MPs and senators voted for the draft proposed by a group of eligible voters headed by the Red Shirt leader, while only 13 more votes were cast against the measure, only 235 votes.
Abstaining from making that decision were 123 MPs and senators.
The joint sitting of the lower and upper houses Thursday morning has been scheduled to facilitate a vote on the four charter amendment drafts after the two days of debate ended.
The voting began with the draft of the People’s Committee for Amending the 2007 Constitution led by the United Front for Democracy against dictatorship (UDD) leader Dr Weng, proposed in 2008 and similar to the now scrapped 1997 Constitution.
The second draft to be voted was proposed by 102 coalition party MPs led by the Bhumjaithai Party, followed by the government's drafts on Articles 93 and 98 on amending Thailand's electoral system, and Article 190 requiring parliamentary approval for any treaty to be signed with other countries.
There are 470 MPs and 150 senators. The amendments require at least 311 votes to pass their first readings.
Opposition whip chief Witthaya Buranasiri earlier announced that the opposition would not participate in any process of charter amendment if Dr Weng's draft is rejected, saying the amendment on only two issues is useless in case the government-sponsored drafts are endorsed.
Puea Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan said before the voting began that the opposition will walk out from the joint session if Dr Weng's draft is rejected and will not join any process of amending the Constitution or delegating any representative to the charter amendment committee.
The Cabinet last week agreed with the results of the study by the Committee for Political Reform and Charter Amendment, chaired by Prof Sombat Thamrong-thanyawong, President of the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), that Article 190 requiring parliamentary approval of any treaty to be signed with other countries and Articles 93 and 98 on amending the electoral system from the current multiple constituency to the single one.
Hundreds of supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), Thailand's Yellow Shirt movement, have been rallying at Parliament to oppose the Constitution amendment drafts and to pressure the lawmakers to reject all drafts. (MCOT online news)
The rejected draft was proposed by a top member of the Red Shirt movements circle of leadership, Weng Tojirakarn, which failed to pass its first reading in the joint session of Parliament on Thursday, after less than half voted for it.
Only 222 MPs and senators voted for the draft proposed by a group of eligible voters headed by the Red Shirt leader, while only 13 more votes were cast against the measure, only 235 votes.
Abstaining from making that decision were 123 MPs and senators.
The joint sitting of the lower and upper houses Thursday morning has been scheduled to facilitate a vote on the four charter amendment drafts after the two days of debate ended.
The voting began with the draft of the People’s Committee for Amending the 2007 Constitution led by the United Front for Democracy against dictatorship (UDD) leader Dr Weng, proposed in 2008 and similar to the now scrapped 1997 Constitution.
The second draft to be voted was proposed by 102 coalition party MPs led by the Bhumjaithai Party, followed by the government's drafts on Articles 93 and 98 on amending Thailand's electoral system, and Article 190 requiring parliamentary approval for any treaty to be signed with other countries.
There are 470 MPs and 150 senators. The amendments require at least 311 votes to pass their first readings.
Opposition whip chief Witthaya Buranasiri earlier announced that the opposition would not participate in any process of charter amendment if Dr Weng's draft is rejected, saying the amendment on only two issues is useless in case the government-sponsored drafts are endorsed.
Puea Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan said before the voting began that the opposition will walk out from the joint session if Dr Weng's draft is rejected and will not join any process of amending the Constitution or delegating any representative to the charter amendment committee.
The Cabinet last week agreed with the results of the study by the Committee for Political Reform and Charter Amendment, chaired by Prof Sombat Thamrong-thanyawong, President of the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), that Article 190 requiring parliamentary approval of any treaty to be signed with other countries and Articles 93 and 98 on amending the electoral system from the current multiple constituency to the single one.
Hundreds of supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), Thailand's Yellow Shirt movement, have been rallying at Parliament to oppose the Constitution amendment drafts and to pressure the lawmakers to reject all drafts. (MCOT online news)
