Nikorn” believes that the joint committee will discuss the referendum in time before the end of the session if an agreement can be reached because there is only one problem with the article. If the MPs stick to the original draft, there may be a problem between the two houses. Amending the constitution will be more difficult. Prepare to propose a middle way solution. The minimum criteria is 1/3 votes to be completed before 30 Oct.
Mr. Nikorn Chamnong, a joint committee member to consider the draft of the Referendum Act B.E. … from the Chartthaipattana Party, spoke about the Senate’s failure to submit the names of senators to the committee, which may delay the consideration. He said that the Senate has suspended its meeting, which has caused a delay because the session will be closed on October 30. However, there was a suggestion to hold a special session to consider this matter, but when considering the reasons, if a special session is opened to consider this matter, it will not be enough. Even if a speci
al session is opened, there will not be enough time to hold a referendum in time for the local elections in February 2025. If it is not in time, it will become an open-ended matter, with no flag or goal. The Cabinet will have to set a date for the referendum itself.
Mr. Nikorn continued that when it is too late, in politics, it is like letting go of the joystick, letting it go because there is no flag, no goal. It will cause the House of Representatives to wait until 6 months have passed and there is no reason to negotiate because there is no need to rush. This means that the House of Representatives may stand by its own draft. If that is the case, in any case, it is believed that it will pass and the Cabinet will set the date for the referendum itself. This will result in having to spend the full budget for the referendum of more than 3 billion baht and no matter how many people come out to vote, the referendum will pass anyway. But if it is like this and if it reaches that point, it means that there is a p
roblem with the Senate. It is similar to a break, which will make it difficult to talk if the referendum passes and a new constitution is drafted because we have to go back and amend Section 256 anyway, which requires the support of the Senators. Sometimes, this conflict is equal to both houses breaking up, which will make it very difficult to get 1/3 of the Senators’ votes. If we do not get this, we will not be able to amend the constitution at all, not even a single section.
‘Therefore, it is seen that at this time, if there is urgent adjustment because it is considered that we cannot go back, the Senate will not meet next week anyway. And if on October 21, the Senate meeting decides on the names of the joint committees and sends them to the House of Representatives on the same day, the meeting can be scheduled for October 22. As for October 23, even though it is a holiday, the committees can meet. On October 24, the consideration will be completed because there is only one article. If there is an agreemen
t, it is finished,’ said Mr. Nikorn.
When asked whether he thought the Senate would delay it because the Bhumjaithai Party also seemed to be leaning towards the Senate, Mr. Nikorn said that he thought no one would delay it because he didn’t know why they would delay it, because it would cause damage to all parties. If it was stretched too tight, it could cause problems between the two houses, not just this matter, but also the inability to work together, which would lead to other matters and would not be good for the country’s legislative system.
Asked whether he thought the coalition parties had to talk to the Bhumjaithai Party, Mr. Nikorn said that he would use that as a tool. He considered the joint committee to be goodwill ambassadors, meaning they were ambassadors for all parties to talk to each other. Otherwise, no matter where we talked, it would be like political parties interfering, especially in the Senate. In fact, they may know each other, but everything must end at the joint committee. It canno
t end anywhere else. However, even though there is little time left, he still has hope because there are many negative consequences ahead. It is not just about amending the constitution, but also about the relationship between the two houses. There will be more problems to come.
‘If the referendum law is not passed in time, it will lead to the House of Representatives being able to stand by what was proposed. But it will be a problem in the future because we will not talk to each other at all. If we ignore the Senate, it will cause problems. I believe that if we look far into the future, we should be able to talk. Both sides will have to retreat. The Senate is not scary. They still have another 1 in 3 swords. Therefore, I will propose a middle way to the joint committee so that the consideration can be completed before October 30. It will be 1 in 3 of the eligible voters, which is a majority vote. There must be people who come out to exercise their rights, or about 18 million people. It should have the weigh
t of being a minimum vote as appropriate,’ said Mr. Nikorn. 314.-
Source: Thai News Agency