Political council suggests reform ideas for democracy at grassroots
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Political Development Council chairman Thirapat Serirangsan has revealed the council's proposals for reform - in three key areas - that were submitted to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) yesterday.
The first seeks to lay a foundation of democracy at grassroots level, through education about politics and citizenship. It further proposes to boost public participation in politics through a citizen’s council or parliament to shape national policy in ways the government is expected to embrace.
Second, it proposed strengthening the medium-sized institutions such as political parties and local administration. Political parties need to be strengthened to ensure they truly belong to the people, and local administration’s power and responsibilities need to be clearly separated from the central government, the council said.
Third, it suggested that key political institutions need to be reformed, including Parliament, government, the courts and independent organisations. The reform needs to start at the start of their process, the acquisition of officials and balance of power.
On the selection of officials, the council has made four proposals. First is that the PM should come from a direct election. Second, political parties that receive the most votes for their party-list, can set up government and the party’s leader becomes PM.
Third, it proposes a mixed parliamentary system of constituency MPs and party-list MPs – to have an equal number of seats in Parliament. The total number of seats allocated to a party would be determined by the proportion of votes it received via party lists.
And finally, it has proposed using the same parliamentary and electoral system but said focus should be put on strengthening the public sector to regulate the executive and legislative branch.
Thammapiban Council leader Kamonpan Cheewapansiri and five other associates submitted an open letter to PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha, calling for the government to create more opportunity for people to frame national policy, both in the long-term and short-term, and to engage the public for opinions on national mega-projects and legislative bills, in order to ensure there is no conflict of interest during the legislative process.
