Charter on thin ice

RUMOURS are doing the rounds ahead of the National Reform Council’s vote that the draft charter is doomed after a list of NRC members believed to be opposed to the draft was distributed to the media.

The list shows between 130 and 140 members are set to vote “No”. The draft will be rejected if more than half of the NRC’s 247 members vote against it.

Reports stated that more NRC members were leaning towards voting down the charter draft after Prayut revealed his stance on the vote during his weekly TV show on Friday. Sources claim that Prayut wants the country to continue the reform work without political conflict.

According to previous reports, a great number of NRC members and top figures in the National Legislative Assembly want the charter draft thrown out because Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha wants the country to resolve its political conflicts before a general election is called. NRC member Rosana Tositrakul said she had no idea about the NLA’s stance on the charter draft but she was certain the name list was not based on facts.

“NRC members such as Poldej Pinprateep and Kanthaya Phusawat have denied the report that they intend to vote down the charter draft. The list has been made up just to damage the NRC,’’ Rosana said.

The NRC will begin voting on the draft at 10am. Each member will be required to state his/her stance publicly.

According to reports, leading figures in the NLA and most NRC members also want to give more time to Cabinet’s new economic team led by Somkid Jatusripitak to solve the country’s economic problems. The new Cabinet would have seven more months to work if the charter draft were to be rejected.

It is also claimed that some members believe rejecting the draft will reduce conflict of opinion between opponents and supporters of the draft, while some members want several controversial aspects of the draft reviewed before a public referendum on the charter is called.

Constitution Drafting Committee chairman Borwornsak Uwanno is upset by the reports and will lead charter writers to hold a religious rite at Wat Phrakaew to seek the blessings of the Emerald Buddha in a bid to ensure the draft is passed.

Poldej said he believed in the integrity of the NRC and that many members would not succumb to lobbying and political influence, and would vote in a way that they believed would benefit the country.

He believed the members who planned to vote down the charter draft were part of a minority voice.

Poldej rejects the premise that most NRC members want to vote down the charter draft to give Cabinet’s new economic team more time. He said the additional time the Prayut government would be given if the charter draft were rejected was not much different than if it were accepted.

NRC member Wanchai Sornsiri said some of the names on the list of NRC members who supposedly plan to reject the draft were actually in favour of the draft but he was confident it would be voted down.

Meanwhile National Council for Peace and Order spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvari said the NCPO would not allow the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship to hold a press conference to table its stance on the charter draft.

He said several leaders of the group gave press interviews that cast a negative light on the NCPO – |misleading the public and affecting the government’s democracy road map.

In a separate development, a group of activists held a symbolic ceremony yesterday, pouring holy water to signify their disapproval of the draft charter.

The group, known as the Democracy Study Group, had called for people to join the activity at the open space in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre at 4pm yesterday. 

However, about an hour before the event was scheduled to take place scores of police, both in uniform and in plainclothes, descended on the area and put barricades up to keep people away.