Thai royalists march against calls for amending constitution
[BANGKOK] Hundreds of Thai royalists marched to parliament on Wednesday to oppose calls from anti-government protesters for changes to the constitution as the assembly met to consider amending it.
The special session of parliament was convened after nearly two months of protests - the biggest of which drew tens of thousands of people at the weekend in the Southeast Asian country.
Protesters seek to change a constitution they say was engineered to ensure former junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha stayed on as prime minister after last year's election.
They want his departure and some protesters also say the constitution gives too much power to King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
The 2017 constitution was written by a military-appointed committee and passed a nationwide referendum in 2016 at which opposition campaigning was banned. Mr Prayuth said the 2019 election was fair.
Warong Dechgitvigrom, who led the march to parliament by the royalist Thai Pakdee group, said he had submitted a petition with 130,000 signatures opposing constitutional change.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Asean Business
Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.
"To amend the 2017 constitution, another nationwide referendum must be done," Mr Warong told Reuters. "Nothing good would come out of this amendment. It will only benefit politicians." The group's move came after Thai legal watchdog group iLaw submitted a charter draft to parliament on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's consideration.
But the parliament secretary said that draft, backed by over 100,000 signatures, would not be considered this week because the signatures must be verified first.
Parliament will decide on Thursday how and what part of the constitution will be amended. Protesters plan to rally outside the parliament to apply pressure.
Parliament is made up of an elected lower House of Representatives, in which Mr Prayuth's backers increased their majority after a ban on a major opposition party early this year.
Members of the Senate, parliament's upper house, were all selected by Mr Prayuth's former junta.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
International
Trump jury told how publisher buried negative press
Sunak says UK to raise defence spending amid global threats
China’s central bank hints it may add treasury bond trades to policy toolkit
US business activity cools in April; inflation measures mixed
India’s inflation at risk from extreme weather, geopolitical issues: central bank
Thailand to replace military-appointed Senate, reduce its powers