Parliament has adjourned its joint sitting of MPs and senators to debate two bills proposing amendments to the Constitution due to a lack of quorum for two days in a row, further delaying the process of drafting a new Constitution.

The Phra Suriyan chamber, the seat of the House of Representatives

Parliament previously planned to deliberate two bills amending Section 256 of the Constitution proposed by the ruling Pheu Thai Party and the main opposition People’s Party. The amendments aim to ease restrictions on constitutional amendments and pave the way towards drafting a new Constitution by an elected Constitutional Drafting Assembly.

The session opened on Thursday morning (13 February). Immediately after the session began, Bhumjaithai Party’s MPs staged a walkout after the party’s secretary-general Chaichanok Chidchob declared that the party’s MPs will not participate in the session because they believe deliberating the two bills goes against a 2021 Constitutional Court ruling that a referendum needs to be conducted before the Constitution can be amended.

Parliament then voted not to consider a motion filed by Senator Premsak Piayura seeking a Constitutional Court ruling on whether parliament is allowed to amend Section 256 before the full debate on the amendments. After the vote, a majority of senators left the chamber.

Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha ordered a headcount and adjourned the meeting at 12.00 due to lack of quorum as only 204 MPs and senators identified themselves as present.

The meeting resumed again on Friday morning (14 February). 367 MPs and senators were marked as being in attendance. As People’s Party MP Parit Wacharasindhu was about to present his motion, Pheu Thai MP Chonlanan Srikaew objected, claiming that the meeting could not proceed because there were not enough members in the room to make a quorum.

Citing previous rulings, Wan said that the meeting may proceed because enough people have been marked as present, unless an MP or senator ask for a headcount. Chonlanan then asked for a headcount. People’s Party MP Pakornwut Udompipatskul objected on the grounds that Chonlanan had violated parliamentary procedures by interrupting Parit. Chonlanan responded that an MP can ask for a headcount during or after a debate, and that he is requesting a headcount because it is unconstitutional to proceed with a meeting which lacks a quorum.

Parit attempted to go ahead with presenting his amendment motion, but Wan said that he now has to conduct a headcount because Chonlanan has exercised his right to request one. Wan explained that he is following previous rulings on this procedure and sounded the alarm calling MPs and senators to come into the chamber, causing a number of MPs and senators to attempt to protest.

Parit accused Wan of being biased, because members were not allowed to debate Chonlanan’s request. Wan said that the procedure does not require a debate on whether to conduct a headcount, but they can discuss how to do so. Parit demanded a discussion to seek other solutions, but Wan said parliament must follow procedures because Parit would not be able to proceed with his motion anyway if there were not enough people in the chamber.

Senator Nantana Nantavaropas then proposed that each MP and senator be called by name to confirm their attendance so that the public will know who was present during the debate. Chonlanan argued that the method needs to be approved by parliament before proceeding.

Pakornwut then requested a 20-minute adjournment for the whips to discuss their options. However, after the 20 minutes, only 176 MPs and senators identified themselves as present in the chamber and the meeting was adjourned due to the lack of a quorum.

Out of the total 492 MPs, only 139 MPs from the People’s Party, 2 Pheu Thai MPs, 2 Democrat MPs, 2 Phalang Pracharat MPs, 1 Chartthaipattana MP, 1 Prachachart MP, 1 Fair party MP identified themselves as present in the chamber. 28 out of 200 senators identified themselves as present.

Activists condemn missing MPs and senators for ‘stalling’

Protesters wearing t-shirts calling for a new Constitution bringing bananas on their march on 13 February. (Photos by Ginger Cat)

In front of parliament, the People’s Constitution Drafting Group, a network of civil society organizations campaigning for a new Constitution, staged a protest for the second day to demand that parliament approve the two bills. After the meeting was adjourned, protesters threw paint and bananas over the parliament gate. They also burned some bananas before ending the protest.

On Thursday (13 February), the group marched to parliament carrying bunches of bananas in a gesture intending to tell MPs and senators that approving the two bills is easy, or "a piece of banana" - a Thai idiom equivalent to the English "piece of cake."

Members of the network held a press conference after the protest. Yingcheep Atchanont, representing the network, called out the senators and MPs who did not identify themselves as present during the session and others who declared their rejection of the bill for trying to stall the process of drafting a new Constitution, which he said must happen someday. He thanked the MPs and senators present during the session, and said that the network will not stop working until there is a Constitution written by the people.

Yingcheep also said that the network does not believe the Constitutional Court need to rule on the issue for a third time. The Court has already ruled, he said, that only two referendums are needed: before drafting a new Constitution and after the draft is completed.

Another protest was held in the evening in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC). During the protest, members of the network read out a statement condemning the delay in parliament as an attempt to disrupt the process of drafting a new Constitution by an elected Constitutional Drafting Assembly, and said that the delay is the result not of different interpretations of the Constitutional Court ruling but of a political conflict.

The network demanded that senators and the Bhumjaithai Party stop using the Constitutional Court’s ruling as an excuse to further delay the process, since the ruling was already clear that only two referendums are needed. They noted that, in early 2024, the House of Representatives requested that the Constitutional Court clarify its previous ruling, and the Court replied that its ruling was already clear, that it is within parliament’s power to amend the Constitution.

They also demand that the House and the Senate approve all constitutional amendment bills in their first readings to pave the way towards a new Constitution and public participation in the process.

Pheu Thai refuses to make quorum to keep the bills in parliament

After Friday’s session (14 February), Pheu Thai MPs held a press conference. Sutin Klungsang, a party-list MP, said that Pheu Thai was trying to keep the bills from being defeated. Its MPs therefore decided not to identify themselves as present during the session, Sutin said, because they believe that the bills would be defeated if the session proceeded.

He also said that Pheu Thai will try to bring the matter to the Constitutional Court to clear things up, because the previously ruling has been interpreted differently by different factions. It has been used by people opposed to constitutional amendments to justify their stance that three referendums are needed to amend the Constitution and their threat that anyone who participates in the session can be prosecuted. The party is seeking another Constitutional Court ruling to clear up the uncertainties, Sutin said.

Meanwhile, Chonlanan said that the party intends to file a motion seeking a Constitutional Court ruling on how many referendums are needed within this week so that it could be put on the agenda by next week. However, it will be up to the Parliament President when the next joint session will take place.

People’s Party demands government keep its promise

Protesters on 14 February threw paint at a board in front of the entrance to parliament and threw bananas into the entrance. (Photo by Ginger Cat)

The People’s Party, almost all of whose MPs were present in the chamber during the session, issued a statement questioning the Pheu Thai Party’s will to keep its promise to amend the Constitution.

The statement noted that some Pheu Thai MPs back the motion to file a petition with the Constitutional Court. Most Pheu Thai MPs also did not identify themselves as present during the session, contributing to the lack of quorum. It said that the government’s lack of political will is a problem, noting that the constitutional amendment bill should have been proposed by the Cabinet, not Pheu Thai, if the issue has been seriously discussed among the government coalition. Meanwhile, MPs and senators are afraid of the legal consequences resulting from the Constitutional Court ruling, which the People’s Party said shows how the country is being ruled by the Constitutional Court and not the Constitution. The statement then noted that almost every party promised to amend the Constitution in their election campaigns, but they are not pushing for it, which is disrespectful towards their voters.

The People’s Party said that the main obstacle to amending the Constitution is not a legal concern or the need for the Constitutional Court to clarify its ruling but conflict among the government coalition. It is therefore up to the Prime Minister to reconcile the differences among the government coalition and implement the government’s policies.

If parliament and the government coalition cannot amend the Constitution and if the Prime Minister cannot make the coalition implement government policies, said the statement, then the Prime Minister should dissolve parliament so voters can elect a new parliament to amend the Constitution.