Formation of joint law review panel for political parties bill deferred to July 20

Formation of joint law review panel for political parties bill deferred to July 20

By The Nation 

The joint committee to review the controversial organic law on political parties will be established on July 20, the spokesman for the National Legislative Assembly whip said on Tuesday.
 

Some of the key figures will be caught up in other work this week, therefore it has been decided to postpone the panel’s formation until next week when everyone is ready, Jate Siratharanont said.

“After its establishment, the joint committee has to finish revising the draft in 15 days. So, if we set up the panel this week and some key members cannot work, we will just waste days,” he explained.

The joint committee will settle the ongoing disagreement over some of the primary voting clauses in the law, in order to ensure fair elections under the newly introduced system.

The bill is the second of four organic bills endorsed by the NLA that are essential to the coming election, the first being the Election Commission draft bill.

The Constitution Drafting Commission, which had drafted and proposed the political parties bill, recently expressed its objections to the NLA’s endorsement, citing a perceived weakness and potential unfairness in the recently introduced primary voting system.

It officially submitted its objections in writing, which led to the proposition that a joint law review committee be set up to review the bill.

General Somjate Boonthanom, chairman of the NLA committee responsible for vetting the organic law, said on Tuesday that his panel was willing to revise the NLA-approved draft to ensure a fair election process under the primary voting system.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30320481

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-7-11