This week, the Thai Parliament will deliberate three bills proposing amendments to the Constitution to kickstart constitutional amendments by adding sections on a drafting assembly.

The debate has been scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday (14 – 15 October). Three different models for how a Constituent Assembly is to be formed have been proposed to Parliament.

Pheu Thai have proposed a 151-person Constituent Assembly with 100 selected by parliament from 300 candidates elected by voters. The number of candidates from each province is determined by the population, but each province must have at least one representative in the Assembly.

The remaining 51 Assembly members will be appointed by Parliament from a list of experts proposed by the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Cabinet, and other organizations.

The Assembly is responsible for appointing a 27-person drafting commission. 14 will be members of the Assembly, while the remaining 13 will be experts in public law and political science, and individuals with experience in politics, government, and drafting constitutions.

Meanwhile, the main opposition People’s Party has proposed a 35-person drafting committee. Members will be selected by Parliament from a list of 70 candidates, who will be elected in a list system.

It has also proposed a 100-person Drafting Consultation Assembly. Members of the Assembly will be elected on a provincial basis. Each province must have at least 1 representative on the Assembly.

The Bhumjaithai Party, now leader of the government coalition, has proposed a 99-person Constituent Assembly. 77 will be provincial representatives selected by Parliament from a list of applicants. The remaining 22 are experts appointed by Parliament.

Once a new draft has been completed, it must be approved by Parliament before a final public referendum.

The People’s Party proposes that the draft be passed by a majority vote in a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which are not allowed to amend the draft. The vote is to be by roll call.

Pheu Thai, on the other hand, proposes that parliament may propose amendments to the draft. Two-thirds of the Constituent Assembly may vote to refuse the proposed amendments. If at least two-thirds of parliament does not approve of the draft, it will be rejected and the Assembly will be required to write another draft within 90 days.

Bhumjaithai proposes that, during the first and last readings, voting will be by roll call. During the first reading, over half of the House of Representatives and at least one-fifth of the Senate must vote in favour of the draft. During the third reading, the draft will be passed by a majority vote, which must consists of at least 20% of MPs from each party and at least one-fifth of Senators.

Civil society demands elected Constituent Assembly

The Constitutional Court ruled on 10 September that parliament may amend the Constitution, but that a total of three referendums is required: two before a draft and one to approve of the new Constitution.

Despite the issue not being raised in the petition filed by parliament, the Court also ruled that a direct election of Constituent Assembly members is prohibited. The full text of the ruling release on 7 October did not contain justification for this decision.

While the three main parties in Parliament have proposed several methods to select Assembly members, Nutchapakorn Nummueng of the Constitution Advocacy Alliance (CALL) insisted that that it is best to allow the people to exercise their power through a direct election.

In an interview with Prachatai published on 2 October, Nutchapakorn noted how political parties are trying to come up with a workaround, proposing that Assembly members not be directly elected, before the full ruling was even published. He said that the public should pressure Parliament to push back against the Court, raising concerns that the public will not be allowed to participate in the amendment process.

Acknowledging that this would delay the amendment process, Nutchapakorn said that it would be better to vote no in the referendum if the process does not involve the people. He also said that one of the referendum questions should ask whether the people want an elected Constituent Assembly.