Charter amendment debate adjourned due to lack of quorum

The charter amendment debate was adjourned due to a lack of quorum. Pheu Thai strategically withheld participation to avoid the bill being rejected, while a senator pushed for a Constitutional Court ruling on the process.

The joint sitting of MPs and senators to deliberate two charter amendment bills was adjourned to Friday due to a lack of quorum. The Pheu Thai Party claimed this was a strategic move to prevent the bills from being rejected.

The meeting commenced at 9:30 am but was adjourned at 11:50 am after Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha ordered a quorum check, revealing only 204 parliamentarians present. Initially, 650 MPs and senators had identified themselves as present. At least half of 500 MPs and 200 senators are required for a quorum.

Proposed Amendments and Walkout by Bhumjaithai Party

The charter amendment bills, proposed by People’s Party MP Parit Wacharasindhu and Pheu Thai MP Wisut Chai-aroon, aimed to amend Article 256 of the constitution to establish a Charter Drafting Assembly (CDA) for drafting a new constitution.Before the adjournment, the Bhumjaithai Party, a coalition partner, staged a walkout. The party cited a Constitutional Court ruling from 11 March 2021, which mandated a public referendum before initiating the charter drafting process.



Urgent Motion by Senator Premsak Piayurat

Following the walkout, Senator Premsak Piayurat submitted an urgent motion, requesting a ruling from the Constitutional Court on whether Parliament could amend the charter without first holding a public referendum.

People’s Party MPs opposed Premsak’s motion, arguing that it had not been formally added to the agenda. Facing strong opposition, Pheu Thai MPs refrained from participating in the quorum check, effectively delaying the session.Pheu Thai’s Strategic Absence

Twenty minutes into the debate, Premsak requested another quorum check, revealing only 180 parliamentarians had inserted their ID cards for attendance.

People’s Party MP Parit Wacharasindhu protested, noting that Pheu Thai had 180 MPs and his party had 140 MPs, making it illogical for only 180 parliamentarians to be present.

Pheu Thai MP Julapun Amornvivat defended their absence, stating that MPs had the right to decide whether to be present for a quorum check. However, Parit argued that as Pheu Thai had proposed the charter amendment bill, its MPs should be present to support it.



Concerns Over Charter Court Ruling

Pheu Thai MP Sutin Klungsaeng explained that Pheu Thai feared its bill would be rejected due to potential contradictions with the Constitutional Court’s ruling. As a result, the party opted to disrupt the meeting by preventing a quorum.

Sutin further stated that Pheu Thai supported Premsak’s motion to seek a Constitutional Court ruling first. Since the motion could not be moved up the agenda, Pheu Thai used the strategy of non-participation to force the adjournment.

Debate Over Adjournment

For two more hours, MPs debated whether the session should be adjourned due to a lack of quorum. Eventually, Wan Noor exercised his authority as the chair to call for another quorum check and subsequently ended the meeting.

Wan Noor scheduled the next meeting for 9:00 am on Friday, when Premsak’s motion would be formally eligible for deliberation after being added to the agenda.

Pheu Thai’s Justification and People’s Party’s Opposition

Following the adjournment, Pheu Thai held a press conference explaining that it feared the bill would be rejected due to concerns over violating the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

Therefore, it supported Premsak’s motion to seek another ruling from the court.

However, the People’s Party opposed this move, arguing that Pheu Thai had already sought a similar ruling from the Constitutional Court in 2024, which was rejected on the grounds that the 11 March 2021 ruling was already clear.

(2025/02/13-00:00)