By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE BHUMJAITHAI, core of the current coalition government, plans to put forward legislation on constitution amendment on Wednesday to the extent that the legislative role of senators to give approval in principle for the bill be substantially curtailed to better streamline its passage.
The Bhumjaithai-attached Prime Minister’s Office Minister Paradorn Prisananuntakul confirmed today (May 18) his ruling party plans to lodge legislation at parliament on Wednesday for amendment to the constitution of 2017 without intent to touch on Sections 1 and 2 pertaining to the monarchy but with intent to reduce the decisive role of all 200 senators to handle the amendment bill alongside all 500 MPs in the approval-in-principle stage.
The Bhumjaithai-proposed legislation is designed for its approval-in-principle stage to practically require a minimum of one-fifth of all the senators, accounting for 40, to endorse the bill as opposed to the charter’s current stipulations which call for a minimum of one-third of all the senators, accounting for 67, for that matter, according to the Prime Minister’s Office minister.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the approval-in-principle stage may yet require a minimum of three-fifths of the total number of legislators from the House of Representatives and Senate combined as stipulated in the current charter now that the minimum number of the senators to cast a yea vote alongside the Bhumjaithai-led MPs could possibly be cut down from one-third to one-fifth as proposed by the ruling Bhumjaithai, surreptitiously steered by de facto party boss Newin Chidchob.
The total number of the lawmakers from the House and Senate combined to approve the amendment bill in its final stage in order to finally turn it into law will likely remain unchanged on a simple majority basis, however.
Paradorn remarked that the latest partisan move toward the sustained constitution amendment issue had been primarily prompted by the phenomenon in which as many as 21 million constituents nationwide had voted for it during a general election for MPs held earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the People’s, the largest party in the opposition bloc, plans to put forward parallel legislation to amend the coup junta-designed charter with primary intent to land the people more decisive roles pertaining to democratic rule and promote the participation of the people in the affairs of the legislative, executive and judicial branches whilst reducing the overwhelming powers of “independent” agencies such as the Constitutional Court, Election Commission and National Anti-Corruption Commission as well as the powers of the senators who were by no means elected by the people anywhere.
The senators, most of whom are allegedly oriented to and supportive of the Bhumjaithai, are currently, constitutionally empowered to name members of those “independent” agencies.
The senators who were all selected from among themselves and their defeated contestants in the notorious 2024 senatorial election had been allegedly clandestinely manipulated by unnamed persons closely associated with the Bhumjaithai.
Electoral riggings cases pertaining to the disreputable senatorial races had been filed to the election commissioners who have apparently dragged their feet over the last few years whilst the agency’s secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee had been invariably accused of being personally associated with and more or less submissive to Newin’s camp whilst the general election for MPs was apparently rife and riddled with allegations of vote-buying and vote-rigging shenanigans in many parts of the country but the polling agency has not yet issued a yellow or red card to any of the elected contestants.
In another development, the Constitutional Court today (May 18) accepted a petition lodged by the People’s-led MPs to judge whether the highly-contentious executive decree issued by the Bhumjaithai-led government for a 400 billion baht borrowed funding scheme may have breached the constitution, thus warranting it to be declared null and void.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has earlier maintained that the executive decree had been completely issued on the basis of emergency and necessity in regard to the people’s economic hardships and the country’s economic slumps.
But the People’s and Democrats have contended that the government’s planned borrowed funding scheme need not be implemented under an executive decree whereas legislation could have been made instead so that such costly schemes be thoroughly examined by the legislative branch.
Barely half the total of the sought-after 400 billion baht loans would likely be used under the Bhumjaithai’s much-heralded copay project whilst the balance might possibly be squandered by government agencies under ill-defined energy consumption and price restructuring plans, albeit without grounds of emergency or necessity.
The Constitutional Court has ordered the government to submit written statements and any relevant documents pertaining to their 400 billion baht borrowed funding scheme in a seven-day time from today.
Anutin has earlier pledged to see to it that “not a single baht and satang” of the loan money will be embezzled or misused by any government agencies and that the whole scheme will effectively serve the interests of the impoverished people throughout the country.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page – Democracy Monument. Above photo – Thai News Pix, BBC, Front Page – Tourismthailand.org
Insert – Prime Minister’s Office Minister Paradorn Prisananuntakul. Photo – PPTVHD36
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