BANGKOK, 12 November 2013 The Senate has unanimously voted not to pass the amnesty bill into law, effectively sending it back to the Lower House.
The Senate vote on the bill’s passing was concluded at 10.40 pm on Monday, with 141 votes against the amnesty bill for those convicted for actions related to political demonstrations and expressions.
Deputy Senate speaker Surachai Liengbunloetchai who chaired the Senate meeting on Monday, explained that the amnesty bill would now be returned to the House of Representatives after being rejected by all the senators. The Lower House will be able to vote on the bill again after 180 days have elapsed. During the 180 days, any draft law with similar principles will not be able to be submitted to the Senate.
Senators took close to 10 hours to deliberate the amnesty bill on Monday, starting from 1 pm.
The Phuea Thai party and other government parties last week pledged that they would not revisit the amnesty bill if the Senate rejected it.
