Parliament on Wednesday approved charter amendments to switch to using two ballots instead of one in a general election amid a heated debate that threatened to derail the process.
Under the amendments, there would be one ballot for electing a constituency MP and another for a party list MP. The joint sitting of MPs and senators voted to pass the amendments during a session that began on Tuesday.
The amendments were drafted by a committee comprising MPs and senators.
The parliamentarians were yesterday called to cast their votes on a motion to endorse a key change to the amendment proposal.
The proposal, which was first put to the committee on Aug 19, specified nine sections in the charter for modification. The sections cover legal content which must be reviewed to accommodate the new, two-ballot election method.
However, when deliberation resumed yesterday only four sections were slated for amendments. Earlier, the committee resolved to drop some sections it deemed unnecessary and which could subject its members to legal complications later.
Natthawut Buaprathum, a list MP of the Move Forward Party, insisted the motion on the amendment proposal should be retracted with corrections regarding changes to the amendment sections made by the committee. The changes were subsequently put to a joint-sitting vote. In total, 357 members voted to adopt the changes to the motion with 42 against and 86 abstentions.
