BANGKOK — Two veteran Senators on Wednesday night urged fellow lawmakers to endorse an amendment of the 2017 Constitution as a means to defuse growing tension in society.
Kamnoon Sittisamarn and Wanchai Sornsiri, both of them well-known figures of the pro-establishment camp, said the Senate cannot withstand the will of the people if they wish to amend the charter, especially in the provisions that allow junta-appointed Senators to interfere with the lower house.
The Parliament is set today to vote on the proposals to rewrite the Constitution, which critics say allows the military and unelected officials to dominate democratic processes.
Kamnoon said there is no justification in opposing the amendment, since the current charter allows a procedure in rewriting some of the chapters. He also supported setting up a new drafting committee.
“The real decision-makers are the people,” he told the Parliament. “I cannot answer to myself why I would vote in opposition of the move.”
Wanchai also said he’s in favor of getting rid of a section that permits Senators to cast their votes for the Prime Minister alongside the House of Representatives. He said the decision should solely belong to the elected lawmakers.
“This era doesn’t belong to the power of any one group,” Wanchai said. “Since every group now participates in politics, we must compromise with each other.”
In order for any of the six proposed amendments to be approved by the Parliament today, it will have to secure at least a third of the senate votes, or 84 votes.
