April 25, 2008
Bangkok - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Friday denied having said he would call snap elections once amendments to the constitution are complete.
"I have never said anywhere that I will dissolve the house," he told reporters.
"What I have said clearly is that once the amendments to the constitution are complete, there will be a provisional section stipulating when it will come into force."
Thai official media reported from Kuala Lumpur Thursday that Samak told Thai diplomats and businessmen at his nation's embassy that he would call new elections after amendments to the constitution were finished.
Samak declined to say whether he would complete his four-year term but expressed optimism that amending the constitution would not lead to another political crisis or military coup, according to AFP.
"Whatever your interpretation is, who can tell whether it will rain tomorrow... the constitutional amendments will benefit our country," he said.
The current charter was approved at a referendum last August while the country was still under military rule following a September 2006 coup.
Meanwhile, Samak cancelled a planned meeting Friday with his coalition partners because former prime minister Banharn Silpa-archa is in China.
