House rejects motion for public referendum

MPs debate MFP bid for charter rewrite

The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 262:162 to reject a motion asking the cabinet to hold a public referendum on a charter rewrite.

The vote came after the MPs spent more than four hours debating the motion proposed by the main opposition Move Forward Party (MFP).

A total of 262 rejected the motion, while 162 others voted in its favour with six abstentions.

Pheu Thai list-MP Chaturon Chaisaeng said the ruling party was not opposed to the MFP’s motion because charter amendments required cooperation from all sides to succeed.

However, he said the referendum law needs to be amended first because its…