By Foreign Law Bureau, Office of the Council of State of Thailand |
<div>CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND</div>
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<div>(INTERIM)</div>
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<div>B.E. 2557</div>
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<div>AMENDMENT (No. 4),</div>
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<div>Thailand’s junta-appointed parliament has passed amendments to the constitution, after the newly crowned King Vajiralongkorn requested changes to the section on royal prerogatives.</div>
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<div>On 13 January 2017, the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) approved an amendment to Article 2 of the junta’s 2014 interim charter. The changes were passed unanimously with 228 votes in favor and three abstentions.
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<div>Citing the 7 August referendum results, Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the junta-backed draft charter must give the junta-appointed senate the right to activate the special mechanism to allow an ‘outsider’ Prime Minister.
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<div><span>7 August 2016</span></div>
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<div>As regards what happened today, I would like to inform state officials, the media, and the people that I was fully conscious of my actions. I am not mentally ill. I was neither on drugs nor was I drunk. </div>
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<div>My actions grew out of the consciousness of a citizen who only wishes to demand and stand firm for rights and freedom, which ought to be ours. Whatever the result, I will take responsibility for my actions.
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<div>Voter lists for the August referendum face more epic and absurd struggles with dogs packs and a teenager who burned the list to repel mosquitoes. Meanwhile, some voters cannot check their names on the list due to excessively high security measures. </div>
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<h2>Dogs tear down voter lists</h2>
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<div>After suffering from kids, monkeys, and heavy rain last weekend, voter lists for the August charter draft referendum have been again spoiled for a series of absurd reasons.
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<p>Authorities have confiscated over 2,000 letters from anonymous senders containing information against the junta’s draft charter in the northern province of Chiang Mai while another 3,000 were found in Lampang a day earlier. <br /></p>
<p>The junta head has reversed his earlier statement that he will draft another constitution himself if the August referendum fails, saying that it was just a slip of the tongue. He also blamed the media for highlighting his thoughtless words and putting him out of temper.<br /></p>