Thaksin to meet with all parties to discuss reforms
By ThaiDay
Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has invited the leaders of all 31 political parties to a meeting this evening to discuss how to proceed with crucial political reforms.
The meeting is scheduled for 6pm at the Senate building. The leader of each of the 31 political parties currently registered with the Election Commission has been invited to attend with up to 3 assistants.
By inviting the leaders of every political party to attend, Thaksin has in effect squashed a proposal by the main opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva who wanted only the leaders of the four parties which had MPs in the recently dissolved House of Representatives to meet.
Although Thaksin has voiced his support for a much-touted political reform process, he made it clear that the way to go about achieving this may significantly differ from the plan advocated by the Democrats.
The Democrat and Mahachon parties proposed amending Article 313 of the Constitution to pave the way for the establishment of a panel comprising seven neutral persons to be appointed by His Majesty the King, which will be tasked with initiating constitutional changes. The Chart Thai Party, meanwhile, wanted the task of making the constitutional changes to come under the responsibility of a larger group of people.
Thaksin said this afternoon that his Thai Rak Thai party prefers the establishment of a large group of neutral people drawn from various walks of life – similar to the specially appointed national assemblies of the 1970s that were tasked with drafting new constitutions.
These differences are expected to be hashed out when the party leaders meet this evening.
By ThaiDay
Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has invited the leaders of all 31 political parties to a meeting this evening to discuss how to proceed with crucial political reforms.
The meeting is scheduled for 6pm at the Senate building. The leader of each of the 31 political parties currently registered with the Election Commission has been invited to attend with up to 3 assistants.
By inviting the leaders of every political party to attend, Thaksin has in effect squashed a proposal by the main opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva who wanted only the leaders of the four parties which had MPs in the recently dissolved House of Representatives to meet.
Although Thaksin has voiced his support for a much-touted political reform process, he made it clear that the way to go about achieving this may significantly differ from the plan advocated by the Democrats.
The Democrat and Mahachon parties proposed amending Article 313 of the Constitution to pave the way for the establishment of a panel comprising seven neutral persons to be appointed by His Majesty the King, which will be tasked with initiating constitutional changes. The Chart Thai Party, meanwhile, wanted the task of making the constitutional changes to come under the responsibility of a larger group of people.
Thaksin said this afternoon that his Thai Rak Thai party prefers the establishment of a large group of neutral people drawn from various walks of life – similar to the specially appointed national assemblies of the 1970s that were tasked with drafting new constitutions.
These differences are expected to be hashed out when the party leaders meet this evening.
