Following a cabinet decision to set up a committee to study approaches to constitutional amendment, a civil society network campaigning for a new constitution has voiced concerns about the government’s policy, noting that it remains unclear how the amendments will be made.

After being informed by the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) that online signatures would not be accepted, the campaign to petition for a constitutional referendum obtained 212,139 signatures on paper in the space of just 3 days.

The campaign to petition for a constitutional amendment referendum faces potential delay as the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) told the the People’s Constitution Drafting Group, just hours after the petition gained the required number of signatures, that online forms will not be accepted and all 50,000 must be collected on paper.

A network of civil society organizations has launched a campaign to collect 50,000 signatures within 7 days to propose a referendum on whether a new Constitution should be drafted by an elected Constituent Assembly.