In Thailand, parliament endorses referendum bill to allow rewriting of charter

Thailand’s parliament has unlocked a process for an overhaul of the constitution, one of the key of demands by a youth-led protest movement that has swept the nation in the past year. Lawmakers in the Senate and the Lower House voted to endorse a bill that would pave the way for a public poll on rewriting the charter. The ballot followed a Constitutional Court decision in March that ruled a referendum must be held before any overhaul, delaying a process sought by protesters for a more democratic charter. [...] Discussions on overhauling the constitution began late last year to placate a growing protest movement started by youth-led groups in mid-2020. Dozens of pro-democracy activists face charges including sedition and insulting the monarchy, which carry sentences as long as 15 years, as a result of their demonstrations.
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