Bangkok: The Constitutional Amendment Committee has concluded its review of all sections and is now awaiting the second reading in the House of Representatives. This development comes ahead of deliberations scheduled for December 10-11, with the possibility of extension into December 12, if necessary.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Naraseth Prachayakorn, a Senator, and Ms. Panida Mongkolsawat, a Member of Parliament for Samut Prakan Province from the Prachachon Party, announced the progress of the constitutional amendment process. Serving as spokespersons for the Special Committee on the Consideration of the Draft Constitutional Amendment, they confirmed that all sections had been reviewed. Mr. Naraset emphasized that the meeting would focus on refining the wording and clarifying the amendments to present to the Speaker of the House for inclusion in the upcoming agenda.
In addressing concerns about whether the special session on December 10-11 will suffice, Mr. Naraseth noted that while the schedule has not been finalized, December 12, the opening day of the regular session, is reserved for further deliberations if needed. Ms. Panida added that the debate timing would be established in the next meeting of the three whips, following the Speaker of the House's call for a meeting. She noted that the debate would likely extend from morning to night due to the importance of the issues at hand, requiring thorough discussion to pass the second reading.
Regarding the referendum question that needs approval from the House, Ms. Panida mentioned that a preliminary discussion was necessary. Despite some content remaining controversial, Mr. Naraset expressed optimism that these were merely differences of opinion. He highlighted that various committee members had different perspectives, which led to extended discussions to reach resolutions. After extensive debates, the committee achieved a majority vote on each section, while reserving some opinions for further discussion in the second reading.