The opposition has again demanded that the government hold a referendum before pressing ahead with its controversial charter amendment bid.
Democrat MP Wirat Kalayasiri said yesterday that the government should first hold a popular vote on whether to change the constitution, and then amend it section by section rather than rewrite it in its entirety.
He said holding a referendum would allow supporters and opponents of the charter rewrite to present their cases so the public can make a well-informed decision.
But the ruling Pheu Thai Party insisted yesterday that it would continue as planned and hold the third and final parliamentary reading of its charter rewrite bill.
If passed, the bill would pave the way for the creation of a drafting assembly to write an entirely new constitution. If the bill is not passed, section by section amendments would still be possible.
Sunisa Lertpakawat, a Pheu Thai deputy spokeswoman, said the bill was not concerned with the contents of the charter change, but simply the process of its amendment. "Voting for the pending third reading is a requirement to complete the process," she said.
Ms Sunisa rejected speculation that the charter amendment bid was little more than a ploy to secure amnesty for Thaksin Shinawatra.
"A drafting assembly will write the new charter, and it is impossible for the entire assembly to be dominated by a single individual," she said.
Chiang Rai MP Samart Kaewmeechai, meanwhile, said the coalition government's working committee considering the charter amendment process had yet to finalise its report.
A complete report was expected to be submitted by Dec 17, he said.
"No one has seen the report, so how can it be said that the government intends to kill off its charter rewrite bill?" he said. Mr Samart was referring to comments made by a Pheu Thai source reported in Friday's Bangkok Post that the government would vote down their own bill at its third parliamentary reading.
The source said the party was concerned that if the bill was passed without a referendum first being held, the government could face legal difficulties if a Constitution Court challenge was launched.
But Mr Samart rejected that claim, saying there was no reason to vote down the bill, which was part of the Pheu Thai's election platform.
Mr Samart said it was not sensible to hold a public referendum before the charter is rewritten. He said the vote should be held after the public had seen the contents of the new charter.
"People can compare the new bill against the 2007 charter. If they accept the bill, it is still in line with the [Constitution] court's ruling about a referendum being held to gauge public opinion," he said.
Almost 70% of the 1,022 respondents respondents in a recent Suan Dusit Poll voiced concerns that the government's bid to rewrite the 2007 charter could lead to political turmoil.
About 25% reserved their opinion, saying they would have to wait and see which sections would be amended, while just over 5% ruled out any chance of political turmoil.
About 40% of respondents believed the charter amendment was necessary.