Thai PM wants Charter change within one year

BANGKOK, January 10 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra announced on Tuesday that her government plans to complete constitutional amendments within one year. Yingluck told reporters that she had not received a proposal from the National Independent Rule of Law Commission (NIRLC) on the formation of a new 34-member Charter amendment committee, instead of forming a new constitutional drafting assembly (CDA), but she has agreed with proposed amendments of the 2007 Charter and her administration is determined to complete the constitutional amendments within one year. Yingluck said that her government is finding good timing for the Charter amendments, although a final decision has not been made whether her administration will agree with the NIRLC's proposal. The Pheu Thai premier promised to listen to all parties and to allow representatives of the Thai public and experts to take part in the Charter amendments to ensure that the rewritten Charter will be appropriate and acceptable for all, acknowledging, however, that the Thai Parliament is constitutionally legitimate to finalize the country's Charter amendment process. Premier Yingluck insisted that solutions to people’s economic problems are also urgent for her government, and that the constitutional amendments will not distract her administration from steadily implementing economic solutions. (TNA)