A petition seeking a referendum on a new constitution continued to gain over 200,000 signatures by its deadline, more than the required number needed to present to the Election Commission.
A campaign launched by Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw) and other activist groups obtained 113,912 signatures by the deadline on Friday and 205,739 signatures by Sunday night, more than four times the required 50,000.
The campaign, “Completely write a new one, vote 100%” (with the hashtag #conforall), was launched last Tuesday after the Election Commission refused to accept the first e-petition which was backed by 53,500 people, stating they required people to sign on paper should they want a referendum.
Tables were set up for the newly launched second petition throughout various locations including the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Chulalongkorn University’s political science faculty, cafes, restaurants, and BTS stations.
By Friday, the deadline set up by the Election Commission, the petition easily doubled the amount, and through the weekend signatures exceeded 205,000.
The new petition was a fast achievement as it took only three days to gain enough signatures after it was quickly set up last week.
The new petition will be scanned as a PDF file and submitted via CD to the cabinet.
The first e-petition campaign was launched on August 13 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in which civil society organizations wanted a new constitution because the existing charter was crafted in favor of the establishment. The petition was to be sent to the cabinet in accordance with the 2021 Referendum Act.
The current 2017 Constitution was drafted by a body appointed by the military junta. It was approved in August 2016 by 61.4% of voters in a referendum. The constitution outlined that all commentary deemed as expressing opposition to the constitution was banned.
The holding of a referendum is the first step in the process of writing a new charter with public participation.
The Pheu Thai party has vowed to initiate constitutional amendments as one of its top priorities after the formation of the new government.
