Following last week’s Constitutional Court ruling prohibiting the direct election of a Constituent Assembly, a network of civil society organizations has staged a protest in front of the Constitutional Court demanding that a Constituent Assembly must be elected.

Protesters in front of the Constitutional Court holding signs calling for a Constituent Assembly election. (Photo by Ginger Cat)

The People’s Constitutional Drafting Group, a network of civil society organizations campaigning for a new constitution, gathered in front of the Court’ at the Government Complex on Chaengwattana Road this morning (17 September). In a statement read during the protest, the network said that the ruling was problematic because the issue of how a Constituent Assembly is to be formed was not mentioned in the original petition. Questions have also been raised whether the Constitutional Court has the authority to dictate how a new constitution is to be written when it should be the responsibility of the legislative branch.

The network insisted that the people hold the power to rewrite the constitution and design the process for doing so, and that power will be exercised through parliament. The Constitutional Court has no right to interfere, it said, noting that the Court’s opinion beyond a formal ruling is not binding for every agency. The network demands the public’s participation in constitutional amendments and for the direct election of a Constituent Assembly.

A copy of the statement was also handed to a Court representative.

Last Wednesday (10 September), the Constitutional Court ruled 6-1 that three referendums are required to draft a new constitution. It also ruled that the House of Representatives does have the power to initiate the process, but that the public is not allowed to directly elect members of the Constituent Assembly.