The Senate on Tuesday rejected the House resolution for a referendum on a charter rewrite by a people-elected constitution-drafting assembly, by 157 votes to 12.
The 250-member appointed Senate sat in special session on Tuesday to consider the House resolution - that the cabinet hold a referendum on a charter rewrite by a people-elected constitution-drafting assembly. Only two-thirds of the senators voted.
A senate committee had previously vetted the opposition-sponsored House resolution.
On Tuesday senator Somchai Sawaengkarn, chairman of the committee, told the sitting that his panel opposed the House resolution because the country did not need a wholly rewritten charter. The present constitution could be amended to improve it.
He also said the present constitution did not have any content to support the establishment of a constitution-drafting assembly, and the House resolution did not present any flaw in the present constitution.
Mr Somchai also said that if a new charter were drafted there would have to be three referendums to support it, and that would cost more than 10 billion baht.
The senators who supported the House resolution said that the cabinet had the authority to organise a referendum and the Senate should not stand in its way.
After learning of the Senate decision, opposition Move Forward Party MP Natapong Rueangpanyawut (Bangkok) expressed his disappointment.
Parit Wacharasin, campaign manager of the opposition party, said Move Forward would present a pedtition with the signatures of at least 50,000 people to the cabinet asking for the referendum.
If the Move Forward Party became the government, it would hold the referendum within 100 days, he said.
He rejected the argument that a charter rewrite would require as many as three referendums.
