Pheu Thai confident of charter vote chances

The Pheu Thai Party is confident the referendum on constitutional amendments will take place early next year as initially planned, despite a difference in opinion on the double-majority requirement in the referendum bill.
Pheu Thai secretary-general, Sorawong Thienthong, said on Sunday the party is committed to holding a referendum early in 2025, saying the first step is to ensure the amended bill passes parliament in the next couple of months.
The push to rewrite the constitution has hit a major hurdle, with the Senate moving to reinstate a tougher requirement for referenda to pass — the so-called the double majority rule.
It says that for the result to be binding, at least half of all eligible voters must cast their votes, and the winning outcome must be supported by at least half of the voters who turn up at polling booths.
However, the House voted 348 to zero to reject the Senate’s push to reinstate the double majority rule. In the wake of that decision, a joint House-Senate committee will be formed to iron out differences.
Mr Sorawong said he hoped the panel can reach an agreement in the next couple of weeks, so the timeline could remain intact.
When asked if the current version of the law will be used to hold the referendum if the panel fails to reach a conclusion in time, he said the matter will be addressed by the party’s legal expert Chusak Sirinil. He insisted a simple majority is sufficient to pass charter amendments.
Despite Pheu Thai’s optimism, Nikorn Chamnong, secretary of the House panel on the referendum bill, said the referendum is unlikely to be held in February as planned.
This is because the Senate has yet to submit the names of those who will sit on the joint committee, he said, noting the parliament will go into recess on Oct 30.
The joint committee will meet from October 16 to 23 to review the bill and decide on the size of the majority needed to pass a referendum on the charter.
If an agreement is reached by Oct 28 and both chambers endorse it by Oct 30, the bill will be forwarded to the prime minister for submission for royal approval.
Mr Nikorn said one proposal being floated is that for a charter referendum to pass, two requirements must be met: one-third of eligible voters must participate, and at least half of the voters who turn out must support the winning outcome.
Based on this proposal, about 18 million voters will be needed to back the constitutional amendment, which is likely to be enough, he added.