Minister:Public referendum for Thailand's Charter change is best way

BANGKOK, December 29 (TNA) - Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Varathep Ratanakorn says that a public referendum is considered the best way for amending Thailand's now-enforced 2007 Constitution. Expressing his optimism that Thailand’s politics in 2013 would go on smoothly, Varathep told journalists on Saturday that he believes public referendum is the best choice in amending the 2007 Charter, urging the government to speed on informing the public so that conclusion could be reached by February 2013. Varathep also opined that the Thai government's budget of over two billion baht earmarked to be spent on conducting the public referendum on the Charter amendments appears to be “reasonable”, as the planned Charter amendments would help end political problems in the country and create national benefits. According to the minister, the Ministry of Interior is now preparing questionnaires for use in the public referendum in order to obtain a genuine democracy through an amended Constitution. Thailand's Constitution Court ruled on July 13, 2012, after the second reading of the amendment Charter bill sailed through the Parliament, that rewriting the entire 2007 Charter without any public referendum would be unconstitutional. Suggestions were, thus, made that the Thai government should amend the 2007 Constitution section-by-section, instead of rewriting the entire Charter. (TNA)