Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, responding to public discontent with his government, said yesterday there would be a national referendum in April on whether to amend the Constitution.
Thaksin made the announcement on his weekly radio address, speaking ahead of a pro-democracy rally scheduled for later in the day in the capital that was expected to draw tens of thousands of people. Thaksin's critics accuse him of corruption and abuse of power.
Thailand enacted a reformist Constitution in 1997 meant to promote democracy, but in practice some of its statutes have consolidated power in the hand of the ruling party.
PHOTO: AP
Thaksin said the referendum would be held simultaneously with the next election for the country's senate, on April 19.
"If the people said they want the constitution to be amended, we will do so as the people hold sovereignty over the country," Thaksin said in his radio address.
Critics of the Constitution point to several flaws which they say run contrary to democratic principles.
A section which states that an election candidate must be a member of a political party for at least 90 days has had the effect of binding members of parliament to their party under threat of being unable to run again if a new election is called.
The provisions regarding independent state bodies, such as an anti-corruption commission, have failed to ensure the integrity of such institutions, which have proven susceptible to pressure from the government.
Thaksin has come under fire since last year after a one-time crony, publisher Sondhi Limthongkul, started staging rallies accusing him of abusing his office and calling for his resignation.
The anti-Thaksin campaign had appeared to be flagging until last month, when the prime minister's family sold its controlling interest in Shin Corporation -- a telecommunications conglomerate -- to Temasek Holdings, Sin-gapore's state-owned investment company, for 73.3 billion baht (US$1.9 billion).
The deal was heavily criticized, mainly because it was structured to allow the sellers -- Thaksin's children -- to avoid paying any taxes and placed what some described as important national assets in the hands of a foreign company.
Sondhi last weekend led a protest of up to 60,000 people demanding that Thaksin step down in what appeared to be Thailand's biggest political protest since 1992, when demonstrations toppled a military-backed government.
Thaksin has said repeatedly and firmly that he will not resign, because of the popular mandate he won in last year's general election that gave his Thai Rak Thai Party an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives.
Several pro-democracy groups, including student organizations, had said they would join hands with Sondhi at yesterday's rally, which was expected to take place at the same venue as last week's event, the Royal Plaza near Parliament.
Government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said earlier that organizers would be allowed to use the Royal Plaza for their protest if they received permission from police and city authorities, but police have not been clear on whether they will allow the demonstration, citing traffic problems it may cause.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he would make a decision about how the US government would refer to the body of water commonly known as the Persian Gulf when he visits Arab states next week. Trump told reporters at the White House that he expects his hosts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will ask him about the US officially calling the waterway the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia. “They’re going to ask me about that when I get there, and I’ll have to make a decision,” Trump said. “I don’t want to hurt anybody’s
RSS