Charter amendment proposals cannot be put on the agenda until a referendum is held to ask for voters' consent for a new charter to be written, said House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha.
Addressing questions about a special House session expected to be called for the first reading of the budget bill for the 2025 fiscal year, Mr Wan Noor said it has not been decided if other key pieces of legislation will be considered during the special session.
Parliament is now in recess, with the new one due to convene on July 3. A special session is likely to be called next month or in June to deliberate the budget bill for the 2025 fiscal year which starts this October.
However, Mr Wan Noor said charter amendment proposals cannot be put up for a House debate because the government is legally required to hold a referendum to ask voters whether they agree with writing a new charter. According to the tentative timeframe, the first referendum is scheduled around July.
If charter amendment proposals are submitted to the House, they will be accepted but there is no guarantee they will be put on the agenda. Parliament's legal office will study the contents first, he insisted.
"If the House proceeds with the deliberation of the charter amendment proposals and the process is found to go against the Constitutional Court's ruling, it will be a waste of time," he said.
On Tuesday the cabinet agreed in principle that three referenda about adopting a new charter would be held, with the first to take place at the end of July or early August.
That would ask voters whether they agree with writing a new charter except for Chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 1 defines Thailand as a single, indivisible kingdom with a democratic regime and the King as head of state, while Chapter 2 has sections about royal prerogatives.
If the majority agrees, the second referendum will ask if Section 256 should be amended to allow for the drafting of a new charter. Once a new charter is produced, the government will hold a third referendum, asking voters to decide whether it should be adopted.
The Move Forward Party (MFP) yesterday called on the government to review the first referendum question, saying the part involving Chapters 1 and 2 could make some voters uncertain about how to vote.
MFP list-MP and spokesman Parit Wacharasindhu wrote on Facebook that the government should opt for a question with no conditions attached, such as "if voters agree with the drafting of a new charter".
MFP leader Chaithawat Tulathon said yesterday some government figures are trying to create the impression that the MFP badly wants to amend Chapters 1 and 2 so it is opposed to the proposed referendum question.
"This is untrue. We're talking about a principle, which is the entirety should be up for change if the power belongs to the people," he said.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai list-MP and government whip Chusak Sirinil said yesterday the government would decide when to proceed with the proposed amendments to the Referendum Act 2021.
He said the ruling party has already submitted its version to the House but because the government agreed to amend the law, it would be decided if the government would produce its own version.
He was referring to the cabinet's move on Tuesday.
The cabinet also agreed that the Referendum Act 2021 should be amended to abolish the "double majority" rule, which requires more than 50% of eligible voters to participate in a referendum.
