The opposition Move Forward party has submitted three draft bills to parliament today, seeking amendments to the Constitution.
Move Forward spokesman Parit Wacharasindhu said that the draft bills seek to abrogate all edicts and orders issued by the post-coup administration, known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which toppled the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014.
The drafts aim to prevent and resist future military takeovers and to scrap the 20-year National Strategic Plan.
Parit explained that Move Forward decided to submit its own version of constitutional amendments to the House, because the process of crafting a new charter will take about two years which, they claim, is too slow.
He said parliament can deliberate the party’s draft bills in parallel with the writing of a new charter.
The first draft seeks to abrogate Section 279 of the Constitution, which legitimizes all the edicts and orders issued by the NCPO.
Parit said the party previously proposed a similar bill to parliament, but it was interpreted as a financial bill and has been held up since last October, pending an approval from Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
The second draft seeks to add a second paragraph to Section 16 of the Constitution, which seeks to encourage all political institutions to reject a coup, such as barring all courts from endorsing a coup, preventing coup makers from being granted amnesty and to empower citizens to sue coup makers on sedition charges.
Parit said the Move Forward party also disagrees with the 20-year National Strategic Plan, because it was drafted by the NCPO and is, therefore, undemocratic.
It also regards it as too rigid and claim that it could be weaponised against opponents of coup makers.
File photo : Move Forward spokesman Parit Wacharasindhu
