House speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha accepted a draft bill from the Move Forward party this afternoon (Friday), which seeks to amend Section 272 of the provisional chapter of Thailand’s Constitution to strip senators of their powers in selecting the prime minister.
Wan told a group of 50 Move Forward MPs, led by secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon that he will ask officials to check the draft and the number of MPs endorsing it, before it is added to the parliamentary agenda.
Chaithawat said the party decided to propose the draft bill to put an end to the political impasse, caused by as many as 159 senators abstaining from voting in the selection of the prime minister yesterday and 43 others not attending the joint sitting, which “is a clear indication that they do not wish to exercise their right and authority in the selection of the prime minister.”
The Move Forward party’s legislative move is intended as a way out of the impasse, to allow Thai politics to move forward, so there will be a new government as quickly as possible, said Chaithawat.
He disclosed that the party had prepared the draft bill quite some time ago and decided last night to submit it to parliament today, adding that he had already informed the Pheu Thai party, which had no objection to the move.
He claimed that the same draft bill was proposed to the last parliament and it was agreed to by both the Bhumjaithai and Democrat parties.
The party secretary-general said he does not think that parliament will take long to deliberate the draft bill, because it seeks to amend a single section of the charter.
Regarding the selection of prime minister, Chaithawat admitted that he could not estimate how many joint sittings will be needed to settle on the matter adding, however, that the party will try its utmost and will explore fresh options.
He also disputed a suggestion by Senator Prapanth Koonmee, who claimed that Pita cannot be renominated for prime minister, citing Rule 41 of the parliamentary regulations, which states that a failed motion cannot be resubmitted during the same parliamentary session.
He said Rule 41 cannot be applied to the selection of the prime minister, which is specified in the Constitution.
