Whips back move for panel to amend charter

Government whips agreed yesterday to seek an amendment to Article 291 of the Constitution that would allow for a panel to be formed to rewrite the entire charter.

The whips resolved at their meeting to support the amendment drafted by the ruling Pheu Thai Party, chief coalition whip Udomdej Ratanasathien said.

The draft bill would be submitted to the House speaker on Thursday for debate by the House, he said.

The Pheu Thai draft calls for a Constitution Drafting Assembly with 99 members - 77 elected from each province and 22 experts in law and political science selected by legislators, the chief whip said.

The framing panel was expected to take four months to form and then six months to complete its work.

"So things will get clearer late this year," he said.

A Pheu Thai source said four draft amendments are expected to be presented for parliamentary deliberation - one from the coalition government, one from Pheu Thai and two from civic groups.

The government and Pheu Thai drafts have some "small differences" but the source declined to go into detail.

The CDA will decide which clauses in the current post-coup charter should be corrected, the source said.

Apichart Sukhagganond, chairman of the Election Commission, said the EC was ready to hold an election for CDA members but the charter had be amended first to let it do so.

Sodsri Satayathum, another EC member, said changes in the law were necessary so that it would not be against the law for the EC to hold polls for the CDA members.