The ruling Pheu Thai party instructed its MPs not to take leave today, to attend the House meeting and top vote in support of a one-tier referendum to amend the Constitution.
An informed source at the meeting said that all the coalition parties, with the exception of Bhumjaithai and the opposition People’s party, will vote for a one-tier referendum. He said the Bhumjaithai party will opt to abstain.
Pheu Thai party-list MP Chaturon Chaisang said that the Senate majority vote in favour of a two-tier referendum yesterday was a signal that the upper House does not want the current charter to be changed.
A member of the Joint Senate-House Scrutiny Committee, Chaturon said he told the Senate at its meeting that the House of Representatives will definitely reject the two-tier referendum today.
He pointed out that the difference of opinion between the Senate and the House means that the referendum bill will have to be put on hold for 180 days.
The real problem is that the Senate will try all means to block attempts to amend the charter, which is undemocratic, because several charter-mandated organisations were not elected by the people, according to Chaturon.
He also said that the current charter would not have been promulgated if a two-tier referendum had been adopted at that time.
