Thai Lawmakers Take First Step to Charter Change A joint session of Thailand's Parliament has taken the first contentious steps toward revising the country's constitution, implemented after a 2006 military coup. Lawmakers on Saturday approved measures that call for establishment of a constitution drafting assembly. Divisions over whether the constitution should be revised mirror the split in Thai society since the 2006 coup that ousted then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Constitutional change is favored by the current government led by Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, but is opposed by the opposition Democrat Party. Those against change say the amendments are intended to pave the way for Thaksin to return home from overseas exile without having to serve time for a corruption conviction.