Referendum on Amending the Constitution

The Prime Minister said that, as a matter of fact, democracy involves diverse views, the pros and cons. Since democracy belongs to the people, and since it is by the people and for the people, it implies a social contract under which representatives of the people are elected to set rules in the form of the Constitution. All members of society must follow the rules, so that they live together with happiness.

He said that the Constitution came from the social contract and it is regarded as the ultimate law of the country. Thai people were proud of the present Constitution, which was described as the first “people’s charter.” He pointed out that his Thai Rak Thai Party and his government were products of this Constitution. Thai Rak Thai was the first political party to have registered under this charter and it formed a government under the charter as well. Today, however, a group of people expressed their dissatisfaction with the Constitution, claiming that it gave excessive power to the Government.

In fact, he said, the administration was based on the rules, and the people also followed the rules by going to the polls. The idea of amending the Constitution or the social contract must be a matter of the majority of people and must not be monopolized by individual groups. Since a call was made for constitutional amendment, he must listen to public opinion on changes to the charter.

The Prime Minister said that he had discussed the issue with the Election Commission of Thailand and some legal experts and came up with the idea of seeking public opinion through a referendum. As Thailand will hold a new election of senators on April 19 this year, the Government will take this opportunity to sound out the people’s views on constitutional amendment.

He explained that in the next senatorial election, voters would be asked to mark two ballots: one to elect senators and the other to show whether they want changes to the charter or not. If results of the vote showed that the majority called for constitutional amendment, the people involved would get together to discuss the methods of amendment and what sections of the Constitution should be amended.

The Prime Minister stressed his willingness for constitutional changes, if most people agreed to the move. He was not the writer of this charter but the product of it, and said that he worked for the people and was ready to respond to their demands.

From source: (http://thailand.prd.go.th/the_pm_view.php?id=1213)