PM backs charter panel, referendum for changes

       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajia is proposing that a constitution drafting assembly be set up to handle changes to the constitution.
       A public referendum could then be held to approve them, he said yesterday.
       The prime minister told his weekly radio and television audience before leaving for the UN General Assembly in New York last night all parties and senators should try to find common ground on the issue.
       They should come up with a single charter amendment draft which they could agree upon, which could then be tabled in parliament for a vote.
       Presenting different versions of the draft could only lead to further conflicts,Mr Abhisit said.
       After returning from the US, the prime minister will meet whips from the government, the opposition and the Senate to discuss what steps should be taken.
       A charter drafting assembly may be formed to study and amend the constitution, he said.
       He proposed that the assembly be made up of members of parliament,those who drew up the 1997 charter and the present 2007 charter, scholars and experts.
       Mr Abhisit said this approach would open up the charter amendment process to public participation.
       He said it did not matter whether the assembly sought amendments to charter provisions considered controversial or a rewrite of the whole constitution.
       A referendum could be needed on the individual articles of the charter that are amended, the prime minister said.
       "I believe this should yield results and there should be a timeframe to proceed with the matter," Mr Abhisit said.
       He was explaining his position on efforts to seek amendments to the constitution and his ideas on how to approach the matter.
       A parliamentary committee set up to study reconciliation, political reform and a rewrite of the constitution has come up with six recommendations.
       It proposed amending charter pro-visions dealing with the selection of MPs and senators, a requirement for parliament to approve international contracts, the dissolution of parties,and intervention by MPs in the administration and budgeting of government projects.
       Nakharin Mektrairat, dean of political science at Thammasat University,said a charter drafting assembly would be needed only if proposed amendments would lead to major changes.
       A referendum would not be necessary as long as amendments were only proposed to certain provisions which are not controversial and would not affect the whole structure of the charter.
       Holding a referendum to decide on provisions of lesser importance would be a waste of money, as referendums cost 2 billion baht to hold, he said.
       "There is no need to set up a new charter drafting assembly," Mr Nakharin said."Parliament, which represents the public, can deal with the task of amending only a few provisions that would not be central to the charter."
       Puea Pandin Party MP for Udon Thani and party secretary-general Chaiyos Jiramethakorn said members of parliament should lead the effort to amend the charter.
       Mr Chaiyos said he supported a change back to single-seat constituencies.
       The electoral system is a point of contention between the Democrat Party and its coalition partners in the government.
       Many key members of the Democrat Party want to keep the electoral system featuring multi-seat constituencies for MPs.
       But member parties of the coalition want to revert to a single-seat system.They argue that if multi-member constituencies stay in place, the opposition Puea Thai Party will continue to dominate the crucial Northeast region.
       They say the single-seat constituency system, in which each constituency becomes smaller with just one seat up for grabs, would give them a chance to win more seats and defeat Puea Thai in the region.
       Government chief whip Chinnaworn Bunyakiat said the government would discuss how to proceed, then hold talks with whips of the opposition Puea Thai Party and the Senate about the next steps.
       He said the government wanted to ensure a unified approach to amending the charter.