The nation will mark Constitution Day on Tuesday (December 10) amid a continued effort to replace the current junta-drafted charter with a new supreme law that proponents argue will restore Thailand’s democratic foundations.
However, major hurdles and differences must still be overcome before a new constitution drafting assembly can begin its work.
Contentious issues dividing MPs and senators include whether two or three referendums are required before rewriting the 2017 charter and whether a “double majority” is needed to trigger the process.
Wider Thai society is also divided over how to forge a new constitution. While liberals are calling for a complete rewrite, conservatives are demanding that the current charter’s first two chapters on general provisions (sovereignty) and the monarchy be left untouched.
Pushes for new charter
Enacted in April 2017, the current Constitution was drafted following the 2014 military coup and has been criticised for containing “undemocratic clauses”.
The charter appears designed to make it very difficult to amend, with any change requiring strong support from all sides in Parliament – senators, the ruling coalition, and opposition parties.
Since its inception, there have been attempts to amend the current charter in order to create a new one.
As the charter was drafted under a junta, critics have called for it to be rewritten by an elected council, similar to the 99-member Constitution Drafting Assembly that forged the so-called “People’s Constitution” of 1997, which was abolished following the 2006 military coup.
The latest push for a new constitution began in October last year when then-prime minister Srettha Thavisin appointed a committee to draw up terms for a national referendum on whether the Constitution should be rewritten to allow the drafting of a replacement.
In April, Srettha’s Cabinet approved the recommendation of the committee, which was headed by the ruling Pheu Thai Party’s Phumtham Wechayachai, that three referendums were required to create a new constitution.
The government also green-lighted the panel’s proposed referendum question: “Do you agree to the drafting of a new constitution that leaves Chapter 1 on General Provisions and Chapter 2 on the Monarchy intact?”
According to the panel’s roadmap, if the majority answers “yes”, a second referendum will ask the public to approve amending Article 256 of the current charter to allow the formation of a constitution drafting assembly.
When the constitution draft is completed, a third referendum will ask voters if they approve it.
However, the new Pheu Thai-led government headed by Paetongtarn Shinawatra has yet to clarify whether it will uphold the three-referendum plan.
The opposition-leading People’s Party, meanwhile, insists two referendums are enough – one to ask if voters want a new constitution followed by another to ask if they accept the final draft.
But that idea has been rejected by certain key coalition figures, including Nikorn Chamnong, secretary to the joint parliamentary committee on the referendum bill. Citing a Constitutional
Court ruling in March 2021, he said no fewer than three rounds of referendum must be held for a complete rewrite of the 2017 charter.
New charter ‘unlikely’ under this govt
The Senate and the House of Representatives are also at odds over whether the “double majority” rule should apply in the referendums.
The original Referendum Act stipulates two conditions for a vote in favour of amending the charter to be binding: the participation of over 50% of eligible voters, and a majority of those who vote must approve it.
The Lower House voted against the requirement for a turnout of at least 50%. However, the Senate subsequently voted to retain the double-majority requirement.
The joint House-Senate committee decided last month to keep the double majority rule, which was applied in the 2016 referendum on the current constitution.
If both Houses maintain their respective stances, as expected, when they convene later this month, there will be a 180-day mandatory “cooling-off period” during which the referendum bill will remain untouched.
After that, if the Lower House reaffirms its stance, the bill will be deemed approved by Parliament.
With a long road of disputes and potential pitfalls ahead, ongoing efforts to rewrite the constitution have little chance of succeeding during the current government’s term, which expires in 2027.
This was recently confirmed by Chusak Sirinil, a government legal expert who serves as a PM’s Office Minister and Pheu Thai deputy leader.
However, Chusak said the ruling party would push to form a constitution drafting assembly before its term ends.
20 constitutions since 1932
Constitution Day commemorates the day Thailand’s first permanent supreme law was declared on December 10, 1932. It replaced the temporary charter enacted following the Siamese Revolution that abolished absolute monarchy in June of that year.
However, Thailand has since enacted another 18 charters, bringing the total to 20 and securing its place among a select group of countries with the highest number of constitutions.
Topping this group is the Dominican Republic, which has had no less than 39 constitutions since its independence in 1844, followed by Venezuela with 26, Haiti (24), and Ecuador (20).
Here’s the list of all 20 Thai constitutions:
1. Temporary Charter for the Administration of Siam (1932)
2. 1932 Constitution of the Kingdom of Siam
3. 1946 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
4. 1947 Temporary Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
5. 1949 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
6. 1932 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (1952 Revised Edition)
7. 1959 Charter for the Administration of the Kingdom
8. 1968 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
9. 1972 Temporary Charter for Administration of the Kingdom
10. 1974 Constitution for the Administration of the Kingdom
11. 1976 Constitution for Administration of the Kingdom
12. 1977 Charter for Administration of the Kingdom
13. 1978 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
14. 1991 Charter for Administration of the Kingdom
15. 1991 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
16. 1997 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
17. 2006 Interim Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
18. 2007 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
19. 2014 Interim Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
20. 2017 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
