BangkokPost.com
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej pledged again on Tuesday that he will not amend the constitution and immediatetly dissolve parliament.
It was the second time in a week that Mr Samak has said he is against dissolving parliament and calling another election.
Other members of the ruling Peoples Power party, however, have called for parliament to be dissolved, as a way of preventing the Election Commission and courts from dissolving PPP, Chart Thai and Matchimatipataya parties.
PPP deputy party chief Karn Tiankaew made such a call last week, triggering the pledge from Mr Samak to keep parliament open. Only the prime minister is authorised to dissolve parliament, a step that is necessary to call a general election.
But Mr Karn and supporters believe such a move would undermine legal cases that threaten the existence of their party, as well as coalition partners Chart Thai and Matchimathipataya.
Mr Samak on Tuesday criticised the constitution and its drafters, saying they created a charter specifically aimed at weakening political parties.
"I can confirm to you that the charter is written to weaken the government, and it does now," he said. "I can prove to you that there were efforts to try to destroy this government, but they were not successful," he said.
The premier said that he favours amending the whole constitution, using the 1997 People's Constitution as a model. But he said other members of parliament want only one article changed in order to try to protect the political parties. He said he will take the issue to a meeting of People Power.
"Many articles should be altered, not just Article 237" on political parties, he said.
Article 237 stipulates that candidates convicted of breaking the election law be stripped of their political rights.
It goes on to say that if party executives had knowledge of the offence committed by party members and did not try to stop it, the party can be held responsible (and ordered dissolved by the court) because it "is deemed to have tried to secure power in a way that is against the constitution."
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Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej pledged again on Tuesday that he will not amend the constitution and immediatetly dissolve parliament.
It was the second time in a week that Mr Samak has said he is against dissolving parliament and calling another election.
Other members of the ruling Peoples Power party, however, have called for parliament to be dissolved, as a way of preventing the Election Commission and courts from dissolving PPP, Chart Thai and Matchimatipataya parties.
PPP deputy party chief Karn Tiankaew made such a call last week, triggering the pledge from Mr Samak to keep parliament open. Only the prime minister is authorised to dissolve parliament, a step that is necessary to call a general election.
But Mr Karn and supporters believe such a move would undermine legal cases that threaten the existence of their party, as well as coalition partners Chart Thai and Matchimathipataya.
Mr Samak on Tuesday criticised the constitution and its drafters, saying they created a charter specifically aimed at weakening political parties.
"I can confirm to you that the charter is written to weaken the government, and it does now," he said. "I can prove to you that there were efforts to try to destroy this government, but they were not successful," he said.
The premier said that he favours amending the whole constitution, using the 1997 People's Constitution as a model. But he said other members of parliament want only one article changed in order to try to protect the political parties. He said he will take the issue to a meeting of People Power.
"Many articles should be altered, not just Article 237" on political parties, he said.
Article 237 stipulates that candidates convicted of breaking the election law be stripped of their political rights.
It goes on to say that if party executives had knowledge of the offence committed by party members and did not try to stop it, the party can be held responsible (and ordered dissolved by the court) because it "is deemed to have tried to secure power in a way that is against the constitution."
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