Independent bodies may have outlived their utility

The political landscape has changed and these constitutional organisations may no longer be needed after political reforms and the new charter is in place.
In 1997, the independent organisations were innovations to check and balance the power of politicians. They were designed as fast-track mechanisms to act against politicians who cheated their way to power or abused that power once acquired.
In those days, the normal judicial process was ineffective in bringing unscrupulous politicians to justice.
But after the constitutional organisations were created under the 1997 charter, they became active against politicians. The work of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), the Election Commission (EC) and the Constitutional Court impressed the public.
Some politicians were banned from politics for five years for filing false asset statements, some were jailed for corruption, and election cheats were not allowed to sit in the House of Representatives despite winning at the polls.
Politicians were shocked as first but they were able to regroup and strike back fairly quickly after they found ways to interfere in the organisations. They managed to send their people to sit in the independent organisations, thus rendering them ineffective as checks-and-balance mechanisms against those in power.
Worse still, the politicians in power managed to use the organisations as tools for persecuting their political opponents, leading to allegations of double standards.
Now that the May 22 coup has reset the political game, questions abound as to whether it would be worthwhile to retain these constitutional organisations and how their roles and powers should be changed.
For example, there have been discussions about restructuring the Constitutional Court. It might be reduced to just a general-affairs office, and a tribunal of judges might be formed on a case-by-case basis.
The NACC and EC might see their power reduced. For example, the EC might be authorised only to hold elections without the power to issue red or yellow cards to candidates. Such
a power would instead be transferred to an election court.
Other constitutional organisations might be simply dissolved if they are seen as useless.
After speculation about the dissolution or reduction of power of constitutional organisations, several members of such organisations have cried foul. Some came out to claim that the people support them and want their organisations to remain intact. Some even reminded the public that they had done a lot for society.
It should be noted that these speculations were not strongly opposed by the public at all. On the contrary, many people supported the idea on the grounds that if the constitutional organisations were unable to perform their duties effectively, it would be better to restrict their roles and powers. They should be redesigned instead of letting them have unchecked power.
The National Council for Peace and Order may also have realised that the constitutional organisations themselves are parties to the political conflict, so some commissioners of the agencies were not selected to become members of the National Reform Council.
Now that the political situation has changed, the constitutional organisations may have become irrelevant.