Pheu Thai rejects court ruling

The Pheu Thai Party firmly rejected the Constitution Court's ruling on the charter amendment draft seeking to have a fully elected Senate and announced it will seek the impeachment of the court judges.

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Pheu Thai Party leader Charupong Ruangsuwan reads out a party statement rejecting the Constitution Court’s ruling yesterday. The court dismissed the government’s draft charter amendment on the make-up of the Senate. PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASILL

Pheu Thai rejects ruling

Party seeks rewrite of charter, targets judges

Aekarach Sattaburuth

The Pheu Thai Party mounted a strong challenge to the Constitution Court yesterday by rejecting its Wednesday ruling on the charter amendment draft seeking to have a fully elected Senate.

It also announced it will seek the impeachment of the court judges and file complaints against them for alleged malfeasance in office and for committing lese majeste in rejecting the amendment draft while it is pending royal approval.

The party vowed to push through another amendment draft in a bid to rewrite the whole charter. The draft was shot down by the court last year.

The decisions were announced by Pheu Thai leader Charupong Ruangsuwan in a show of defiance against the court's authority.

Mr Charupong said Pheu Thai will not accept the court's ruling and would convince coalition parties and senators to back the impeachment and criminal prosecution of the five Constitution Court judges who rejected the amendment draft.

The draft would have empowered voters to elect all senators. The court saw it as an attempt by politicians to control the Lower and Upper houses.

Mr Charupong said the court violated the constitution by accepting complaints against the charter amendment for consideration. He said Section 291 of the constitution empowered parliament to change the charter, saying this was affirmed by the court's ruling last year that parliament had the power to amend the charter section by section.

Mr Charupong said the court also clearly interfered with the legislature's power when it ruled that MPs had violated parliamentary regulations in casting their votes on the draft on behalf of others.

He said it was parliament's job to rule whether any of the MPs had violated its regulations in doing so.

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