Changes To Thai Charter Are Well Down Priority List: PM Abhisit

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CHARTER AMENDMENT

Changes to charter are well down priority list : PM

By The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva hinted yesterday that charter amendments were a low priority for him, saying the Cabinet may, or may not, debate the proposed changes and he would leave it up to Parliament to decide whether to convene an extraordinary session on a rewrite of the Constitution.

"If changes [are likely to] lead to trouble, then this should not be done," he said in reference to opposition moves against amending the charter.

Abhisit said he believed the Sombat Thamrongthanyawong panel did not recommend six amendments as expected, adding that the changes would not have covered several controversial issues as feared.

UNCERTAINTY OVER REVIEW

He said he was uncertain whether Cabinet could review the proposed amendments by tomorrow since the Sombat report had yet to be circulated to solicit responses from coalition parties.

All sides should not come to hasty conclusions before having a chance to review the Sombat report, which had yet to be released, he said.

He said his government was devoting its full attention to address the flood-related problems, hence there was no urgency on charter rewrite.

If Parliament could clear its agenda in order to debate the amendments before its session ends on November 28, it would decide whether to carry on the rewrite to completion or wait for the next session, he said.

NO DECISION YET ON POLL DATE

Speaking in his weekly address, the prime minister said although he would opt for an early election, he had yet to finalise his decision on a poll date, which could fall either at the beginning or near to the end of next year.

He said foremost in his mind in determining the poll date was that the voting outcome should lead to peace instead of turmoil. He dismissed speculation about timing the poll to his coalition's advantage.

He said his government's initiatives on reconciliation had made significant progress and that fence-mending efforts should start to show tangible results by the year's end, paving a way for the next year's vote.

In regard to the by-election in Surat Thani on Saturday, he said he had made a telephone call to congratulate Democrat secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban for his victory.

But he brushed aside questions about shuffling his Cabinet to accommodate Suthep, saying it was too early to comment on the issue.

-- The Nation 2010-11-01

[chantorn]

Low priority? Why not just remove it.

The coup constitution is the best. It is better that the people's constitution that has been void.