Next year, the Opposition will step up efforts, both inside and outside parliament, to make constitutional amendments a reality to allow fair and just political ground rules or all parties, said Mr. Phumtham Wechayachai, advisor to opposition leader and a key member of the Pheu Thai party, today.

In parliament, he said the Opposition will try to amend the charter through a joint parliamentary panel, recently formed to study constitutional amendments, headed by Mr. Phiraphan Saleeratthavipark, a veteran Democrat MP who quit the party in mid-December to join the Palang Pracharat party.

In the meantime, he said the opposition will mount an educational campaign to raise public awareness of the obstacles posed by the current charter and the need to dismantle them in order to set fair political ground rules.

He urged Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to be more open-minded about amending the charter, warning that, if the charter remains unchanged in the next six months, a political crisis would be inevitable.

The opposition is concerned, however, that without the Prime Minister’s support, the effort to amend the charter will fail because of opposition by the junta-appointed Senate.

The Prime Minister has always maintained that amending the charter is the responsibility of the legislature as a whole, not the Government.