Court ruling: Opposing sides react

21 พฤศจิกายน 2556

The Constitution Court?s rejection of the charter amendment requiring all senators be elected was greeted with cheers from government opponents and bitterness and some tears from its supporters.

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Democrat rally leader Suthep Thuagsuban presents Senate Speaker Nikhom Wairatpanich with 115,000 signatures to seek impeachment of MPs who supported the amnesty bill. Now, a second impeachment action may be taken against those supported the rejected charter amendment. Media pool photo.

Court ruling: Opposing sides react

The Constitution Court’s rejection of the charter amendment requiring all senators be elected was greeted with cheers from government opponents and some tears from its supporters.

The reaction was somewhat muted, however, since the Court refused to impose the ultimate penalty of dissolving the political parties pushing the amendment bill through parliament or impeaching those politicians who voted for it.

The opposition Democrats saw the ruling as a new opportunity to pile the pressure on the Yingluck Shinawatra government, already reeling from a failed bid to pass a blanket amnesty law which was seen as improperly benefitting the prime minister’s brother Thaksin. He, of course, is living in exile in Dubai, having been removed as the country’s leader in a 2006 coup.

Anti-government demonstrators near the Constitution Court react to yesterday's ruling . THITI WANNAMONTHA

A red-shirt supporter can't hold back here tears after hearing the court ruling against the elected senate amendment while at Rajamangala stadium yesterday afternoon. THANARAK KHOONTON

Democrat MP for Songkhla and party legal team member Wirat Kalayasiri said Ms Yingluck must now withdraw the bill which she had submitted to the palace for royal endorsement. Ms Yingluck also must resign to show responsibility for submitting a flawed bill, Mr Wirat said.

That is unlikely to happen. Deputy Prime Minister Phongthep Thepkanchana yesterday said Prime Minister Yingluck had simply complied with the constitution.

When parliament forwarded the charter amendment draft to her, she was required by the constitution to submit it to the palace for royal endorsement within 20 days, Mr Phongthep said.

In its written ruling, the Court was particularly scathing in its criticism of how the amendment was pushed through parliament. The documentation was badly flawed, the debate was unfairly curtailed and the voting was blatantly dishonest as the votes of absent MPs were cast by colleagues inside the chamber, the judges wrote.

The opposition Democrats are certain to call for the resignation or impeachment of House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranon and Senate Speaker Nikhom Wairatpanich for their roles in cutting off debate.

Yesterday, a subdued Mr Nikhom admitted the amendment was dead and he said he would carry out a review of the procedures to see what went wrong. Mr Somsak did not comment immediately.

Mr Wirat also said the Democrat party will submit a petition to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) seeking to remove from office the 312 MPs and senators who voted for the charter amendment draft.

Meanwhile, outside parliament, the ruling has had dramatically different effects on the demonstrations held by government opponents and supporters. At the Democrat-sponsored rally at Democracy Monument, rally leaders expect the ruling will help draw even more protesters to a campaign for the removal of what they call the Thaksin regime. Rally leader Suthep Thuagsuban is calling for one million people to attend Sunday’s rally.

Red-shirt rally leaders at Rajamangala stadium last night, led by Jatuporn Promphan, centre, told supporters to go home and build support for amending the entire constitution. SEKSAN ROJJANAMETAKUL

The pro-government red-shirts, on the other hand, abruptly ended their rally at Rajamangala stadium to go home to prepare to fight another day. They are clearly bitter at what they see is court interference in the right of parliament to amend the charter.

UDD core leader Jatuporn Prompan told those present in the stadium to get red shirts in their communities to back government MPs to vote for amending Section 291 of the constitution which will allow the set-up of a charter drafting committee to rewrite the whole constitution.

"Since we can't change it section by section, we will change the whole charter," Mr Jatuporn said.