Commentary: Will anxious Thai protesters wait for a new constitution?

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The protesters’ second demand for a new and genuinely democratic constitution is being partially met, albeit within the tedious parliamentary ...

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SINGAPORE: Thai anti-government protesters are making three demands – the resignation of the country’s prime minister, a new constitution and a review of the monarchy’s powers.Advertisement

They have demanded that Parliament scraps the current Constitution of 2017 and adopts “the people’s draft constitution”, which includes amendments to ensure that the prime minister is an elected lawmaker while also stripping senators' power to choose a prime minister.Their proposal was submitted to the House Speaker on Sep 22 in a mass petition organised by the Internet Law Reform Dialogue , an academic NGO based in Thammasat University. But this is not going to happen.

When Parliament opens for its regular session on Nov 1, the six pending bills on the Constitution – including one each tabled by the ruling party and the leading opposition party - will be taken together for further consideration. For instance, even though it was submitted to parliament two days before lawmakers met in September, Speaker of Parliament Chuan Leekpai deemed it too late to be tabled as part of the meeting agenda.At that sitting, lawmakers also cast doubt on whether such a proposal would truly be representative of the views of all Thais.

Many senators have insisted that a national referendum must be held to let Thai voters decide. This is because the draft of the current Constitution was endorsed in the national referendum in August 2016, in which about 10.6 million voters endorsed the draft - an acceptance rate of 61.35 per cent.Overcoming the senators’ hurdle will require active lobbying of the prime minister, and a great deal of behind-the-scene heavy lifting by his influential deputy, Prawit Wongsuwan.

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