Article 272: The unmovable constitutional rock that wrecked Pita’s PM bid

[webfact]

 

Blame for Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s failed bid to become prime minister has fallen on Article 272 of the Constitution.

 

Pita fell short of the majority required to take the top job during a parliamentary vote on July 13.

 

The charter’s transitory clause empowers the Senate to elect a prime minister jointly with the House of Representatives for “five years from the date of installation of the first National Assembly under this Constitution”.

The first Parliament under this Constitution convened in May 2019.

 

Just a day after Pita’s bid failed, Move Forward submitted a draft amendment for Article 272 that would “switch off” the Senate’s constitutional power to join elected MPs in the vote for a new PM.

 

If this power were taken away, then nominees would only need majority support from MPs to become prime minister.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/article-272-the-unmovable-constitutional-rock-that-wrecked-pitas-pm-bid/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-07-24

 

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[flyingtlger]

43 minutes ago, webfact said:

Just a day after Pita’s bid failed, Move Forward submitted a draft amendment for Article 272 that would “switch off” the Senate’s constitutional power to join elected MPs in the vote for a new PM.

A day late and a dollar short.....

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

A day late and a dollar short.....

Agreed...

[Denim]

2 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

A day late and a dollar short.....

Yup. Shutting the door after the horse has bolted.

 

IMO, those senators who abstained in round 1 should now be excluded from any further participation having already demonstrated  an apparent indifference on the issue.

[sammieuk1]

The land of you never get what you voted for ????

[dinsdale]

Interesting how on the whole constitutions and democracy are entwined. Not here. 250 unelected generals put in place buy a junta can deterine the future of the country. This is the antithesis of a democratic process.

[smedly]

I see only two ways to get artcle 272 removed

 

join with an unsavory junta minority party, get a semi functional government - remove it and disolve parliament and have another election

 

the 2nd option is rather unsavory

 

3rd option - challenge it in court - if you trusted Thai courts

 

the military have this well tided up for now - if I was Thai I'd be very angry right now

[bamnutsak]

I doubt that the proposal to consider this amendment would have even been allowed for reading as the first order of business was to vote on the PM.

 

After that it COULD be considered.

 

That said, it still may not have passed. And even if it had, the Constitutional Court would have struck it down as they've indicated they would previously.

 

Six months after it began, the contentious constitutional amendment process in the Thai parliament ground to a halt on 17 March when the draft bill on amending the 2017 Constitution was rejected in its final reading.

This came after the Constitutional Court ruled that the approach taken in the bill would be tantamount to abolishing the existing constitution, and that such a drastic move required a national referendum in order to be constitutional.

 

 

 

So hang on to your dollars, days, and barn doors.

 

Even if you think you've found a loophole, various functions of the regime will justify striking it down. 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by bamnutsak

[Sydebolle]

Anything official in this country is a godforsaken mine field and chances are, that you blow yourself up whichever direction you go. But it is the Thai citizen with their voting rights grossly misinterpreting their power and so they just follow the gravy train of vote buying and smoke-screen governmental hand-outs. 

While 40 years ago I could understand the ignorance of the voters to a certain extent I am appalled by the ignorance of the generations which followed. Thailand as such is a failed state and could have done soooooo much better, for the improvement of the very same Thai citizen and Thai voter.

There's an easy way and a painful path; the flock of sheep chose the stony way to the slaughterhouse operated by all those eliterian oligarchs, the BiB, the crooks in uniforms hiding between countless numbers of articles, be it 112, 272 or whatever else is well placed in the latest version of a "voter's approved" constitution. 

Thai people - it is your call if you are unhappy! 

[superal]

Yet when there is an army coup , none of the articles within the constitution mean anything . The election committee are being guided to be pedantic . I have no doubts that who ever is to be the next Thai P.M. will have skeletons in their cupboard .

[herfiehandbag]

2 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

While 40 years ago I could understand the ignorance of the voters to a certain extent I am appalled by the ignorance of the generations which followed.

The ignorance is a result of an education system specifically designed to keep them ignorant, for example in history lessons, nothing is taught about the development of modern governance, or really regional let alone global modern history, but the children are taught, expected to and tested and graded on an ability to name and order all the Kings of Thailand for the last four hundred years.

 

Perhaps ironically, this emphasis on the monarchy is a result of the American emphasis on enshrining and supporting the monarchies of South East Asia in their struggles to maintain control of the regions. It worked (sort of for a while ) here if not in Cambodia or Laos.

 

Anyway, back to the topic, the last ten years has seen a generation of young people educating themselves. Unfettered access to the internet, permitted because those in power saw it  only as a placebo, used only for sending each other photos of their lunch(!) has rather backfired. It is now too late to reign it in!

 

It will be very ironic if it is the B800 cheap Chinese smartphone which causes the downfall of what has become China's client state!

Edited July 24, 2023 by herfiehandbag

[Fbken]

just as well he is a member of WEF

[smedly]

21 hours ago, smedly said:

I see only two ways to get artcle 272 removed

 

join with an unsavory junta minority party, get a semi functional government - remove it and disolve parliament and have another election

 

the 2nd option is rather unsavory

 

3rd option - challenge it in court - if you trusted Thai courts

 

the military have this well tided up for now - if I was Thai I'd be very angry right now

they have a huge majority - even if  they  join forces with other parties unsavory - the majority in the house is MFP and PT -  <deleted>## them get a government and a PM and all will crumbling down ------- artle 272  will be the first to go ..... in fact ditch the whole constition that the junta created - power to the people ...................................then we will have another military intervention  - no 24...............I hope the people of Thailand will stand up and fight this nonsense