Blame for Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s failed bid to become prime minister has fallen on Article 272 of the Constitution.

Pita fell short of the majority required to take the top job during a parliamentary vote on July 13.

The charter’s transitory clause empowers the Senate to elect a prime minister jointly with the House of Representatives for “five years from the date of installation of the first National Assembly under this Constitution”.

The first Parliament under this Constitution convened in May 2019.

Just a day after Pita’s bid failed, Move Forward submitted a draft amendment for Article 272 that would “switch off” the Senate’s constitutional power to join elected MPs in the vote for a new PM.

If this power were taken away, then nominees would only need majority support from MPs to become prime minister.

What the provision says

Article 272 states that for the first five years of Parliament under the current Constitution, the new prime minister shall be elected by a joint sitting of Parliament. The candidate must gain votes from “more than half of the total number of existing members of both Houses” to be successful.

Article 272 also allows for the nomination of an outsider who is not among party nominees for PM – provided the nomination is approved by at least two-thirds of all 750 members of Parliament (500 votes).

This controversial clause, described as “undemocratic” by critics, was backed by 58% of voters in a public referendum under junta rule in August 2016, when 61% of voters supported the final constitutional draft.

An almost impossible mission

The 2017 Constitution, which was written under the post-coup junta, appears designed to make amendments extremely difficult. To amend a clause, support is required from all sides involved – junta-appointed senators, the ruling coalition, and political parties outside of the government.

Proponents must first get support from at least one-fifth of the Lower House, or 100 MPs, to submit a motion. The proposed amendment then requires backing from more than half of both Houses of Parliament, or a minimum of 376 votes, to pass the first reading. Those votes must include at least one-third of all 250 senators, or 84 votes.

To pass the second reading, the proposed amendment requires a simple majority from both Houses, or at least 376 votes.

In the third and final reading, majority support from both Houses is required, but the supporters must include at least 84 senators and at least 20% of all MPs from political parties not represented in Cabinet or the posts of House speaker or deputy speaker.

Move Forward is thought to have submitted the amendment bill simply as a “symbolic gesture”, as there is little chance the party will gather enough parliamentary support to ensure its passage, particularly from senators.

Pita secured only 13 votes from senators in the PM vote, far fewer than the 65 votes he required from outside his eight-party coalition. To nullify the Senate’s power, Move Forward needed at least 84 votes from the Upper House.

Previous amendment attempts

Six attempts were made to amend the controversial charter clause over the past three years, but all failed due to insufficient support in Parliament.

The first attempt, seeking to remove Article 272, was proposed by opposition parties in November 2020. It was supported by 268 parliamentarians, including 56 senators, but that wasn’t enough to ensure its passage.

The same month saw human rights group iLaw submit a separate amendment bill to remove Article 272. But it was rejected after winning support from only 212 parliamentarians – just three of whom were senators.

The third amendment attempt came in June 2021, when opposition parties again sought to remove the clause. The bill obtained as many as 455 votes, including 15 from senators. But again, support from the Upper House was still far short of the minimum required.

In the same month, the amendment effort by the coalition Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties did slightly better by gaining 461 votes – but only 21 came from the Senate.

In November 2021, a fifth attempt was made to amend Article 272 by a civic group called Re-Solution, backed by a petition signed by over 150,000 eligible voters. It gained just 206 parliamentary votes – only three from senators.

The last amendment bill was submitted in September 2022 by another civic group, led by former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn. The proposed change was backed by 356 parliamentarians, 23 of them senators, but that was nowhere near enough for the amendment to become law.

By Thai PBS World’s Political Desk