BANGKOK, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Wednesday led his Bhumjaithai Party in submitting a draft constitutional amendment to parliament, becoming the first party to formally launch the process of rewriting the country's charter.
Anutin, along with the party's executive board and its lawmakers, filed the proposal with Speaker of the House of Representatives Sophon Zaram, setting out the procedure for drafting what the party described as a "people's constitution."
The proposal calls for a 100-member Constitution Drafting Assembly, composed of 77 provincial representatives, one from each province, and 23 experts and academics, with a reserve pool of 300 additional members rounding out a 400-name candidate list.
In a statement, the party said members would not be chosen by direct election, in line with a constitutional court ruling. Instead, legislators from both chambers would select members from the candidate list, with allocations weighted to the Senate (200 seats) and House of Representatives (500 seats).
Bhumjaithai Party's draft expressly prohibits any changes to Chapter 1, on general provisions, and Chapter 2, on the monarchy.
To address the key obstacle that sank earlier amendment attempts, the party proposed lowering the threshold for Senate approval from one-third to one-quarter, about 50 of 200 senators, calling it a compromise.
"Today we have made our position clear that Bhumjaithai listens to the voice of the people and is ready to move forward with constitutional reform through democratic processes," Anutin said after the filing.
Sophon said the bill would be placed on the parliamentary agenda in due course and that other parties remained free to submit competing drafts.
The push follows a Feb. 8 referendum in which Thai voters signaled support for constitutional reform. ■
