BANGKOK, 1 May 2015 – The president of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) says a revision of the 2014 interim Constitution is needed if a public referendum were to be staged.
NLA President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said the interim Constitution has not authorized the NCPO Chief to hold a public referendum for the draft constitution, but gives the NCPO and the Cabinet the power under Article 46 to propose charter amendments to the NLA for approval. So the decision to make changes to the new Constitution solely rests on the law makers.
He concluded that if a referendum were to take place, the provisional charter must be amended first, through the utilization of Article 46. He added that Article 44 of the interim charter has been designed as a tool for the NCPO to carry out the 3-step roadmap to its goals, not for the NCPO chief to use power more than that invested upon him by the constitution.
Mr Pornpetch also seconded PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s comment that the issue concerning referendums should not be raised at the moment and will not be discussed at the next “Five Rivers” meeting.
