BANGKOK, June 25 (TNA) – The parliament passed only the constitutional amendment bill of the Democrat Party which concerns changes to the election of House representatives.
On June 24 the parliament voted for 13 charter change bills. The Democrat Party’s bill was the 13th one and received 552 votes in favor (comprising 342 votes from House representatives and 210 senators), 24 against and 130 abstentions.
The parliament formed a 45-member committee to scrutinize the bill. It consists of 30 House representatives and 15 senators. It will finish the task in 15 days. Its first meeting was set on June 29.
Regarding approval in the first reading, a constitutional amendment bill needs the majority of all members of the parliament or at least 367 of 733 MPs. There were 483 qualified MPs and 250 senators. Besides, it must receive approval from at least one-third of senators or 84 senators.
The 12 other charter change bills failed to obtain endorsement from one-third of senators. They included the bills that would diminish senators’ authority and the bill from the coalition-core Palang Pracharath Party which sought to change anti-corruption mechanisms of the constitution. (TNA)
