A Senate committee has come under fire over its proposal to amend the constitution in what is seen as a move to help Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha cling on to power.
Senator Seree Suwanpanont admitted that the committee on political development and public participation had asked the King Prajadhipok's Institute to study the possibility of amending Section 158 of the constitution.
The section stipulates that an individual can only serve as prime minister for a maximum of eight years, regardless of whether the four-year terms were served consecutively or not.
Mr Seree said the committee concluded that the section should be revised to remove the eight-year limit on a prime minister's tenure.
This is for the sake of all political parties, he said, and that the change can apply to anyone after the next election. He insisted the proposal was not intended to help Gen Prayut stay in power.
"Those who claim that this is for the sake of Gen Prayut may be worrying too much. It is unnecessary fear. Nobody knows who will win the election yet. Moreover, the Pheu Thai Party has said it will win the election by a landslide, hasn't it," Mr Seree said.
He further added that amending the constitution is not easy as a charter amendment proposal requires the support of at least one-third of senators and at least 20% of opposition MPs.
Senator Kittisak Rattanawaraha said he supports the proposal, saying the eight-year limit for the premiership should be removed.
"A decent person should be allowed to serve as prime minister for more than eight years. But if we get a bad prime minister, the people will decide what action should be taken," Mr Kittisak said.
He said a charter amendment proposal would also be put forward to prohibit former MPs from holding any political office within two years of leaving office as MPs.
Gen Prayut on Friday declined to comment on the issue, saying it has nothing to do with him.
Deputy Finance Minister Santi Promphat, who serves as secretary-general of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), disagreed with the proposal, saying it would only serve to benefit a single individual in reference to Gen Prayut.
Wirach Ratanasate, PPRP deputy leader, said that he did not see any reason to amend the constitution to remove the eight-year tenure limit.
Asked if the PPRP opposed the proposal because the party isn't nominating Gen Prayut as its candidate for prime minister in the coming election, Mr Wirach said Deputy Prime Minister and party leader Prawit Wongsuwon is the party's sole candidate.
Jade Donavanik, a former adviser to the Constitution Drafting Committee, also disagreed, saying the proposal would only benefit Gen Prayut.
"If [the Senate committee] does not want to be criticised for acting for the sake of Gen Prayut, they must draw up a provisional clause to ban those who served as prime ministers under the 2007 constitution as well as the current constitution from serving as prime minister for more than eight years [under the proposed amendment]," Mr Jade said.
The proposed change can apply to anyone who does not fall into these categories, Mr Jade said.
"Without such a clause, it is obvious that this is intended to help Gen Prayut [to cling on to power]," he said.
Yutthaporn Issarachai, a political science lecturer at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, echoed the view, saying the proposal is designed to extend Gen Prayut's tenure beyond 2025.
If he were re-elected, Gen Prayut would only be eligible to remain in office until 2025, according to a ruling by the Constitutional Court in September concerning his eight-year tenure limit as premier.
"The proposed amendment will not benefit the public, and it may re-ignite conflict," Mr Yutthaporn said.
"If the Senate committee wants to amend the charter section, it should do so after Gen Prayut completes his eight-year tenure in 2025 to avoid criticism," he said.
Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew slammed the move. "Everyone knows that the change will help Gen Prayut to cling to power," Mr Cholnan said.
