Drafters aspire to timeless principles of charter pillars

The new political creations – the single-ballot voting system and the premier candidates list – proposed recently by the charter drafters were for the rising generation who were increasingly sophisticated, educated and urbanised, said charter drafter Supachai Yavaprabhas.

“The post-generation Y people, or those who are under 30, have a decision-making process that’s different from the baby-boomers or those who are 60 or 70. Young people today are far more sophisticated. They multitask all the time. The new system could turn out to be convenient for them,” he told The Nation.

Politicians and critics voiced concern that the new electoral system – mixed-member apportionment (MMA) – would perplex voters. The system was aimed at making every vote count. The CDC has not finalised how it would calculate its figures, but it’s likely that all received votes of all candidates – winners and losers – would be calculated to decide the total number of parliamentary seats each party would get.

“It’s their [youthful] world now. In the first round [when the new voting system and PM selection process were adopted], it could be a little confusing for some people; but in the second, the third and so on, it would get better. I believe this clicks with the young people,” said Supachai. The political scientist charter crafter is the first vice-chairman of the subcommittee to study the executive structures that last week proposed the idea of the “Prime Minister List”.

The PM list was proposed for each party to disclose publicly so that voters would know beforehand who would become premier if they voted for a constituency candidate of the party.

Dubbed the “one for three” voting system, in which a voter cast one single ballot to determine all three positions – constituency and party-list MPs as well as the government head – it would get everyone to think harder, he pointed out.

“Before, you could buy two coats. One for winter and the other for rain. Now the coat comes two in one. But you have to weigh your preferences,” the drafter said.

“Now you only have one card to play and it could decide your fate. Both political parties and voters would have to think a lot, under such a system,” he said.

Besides that, he also stated both MMA system and the PM list were game changers for political parties.

On the one hand, a single-ballot was easy for crossing and counting, he said. On the other hand, both election runners and political parties would choose one another more carefully.

Asked why the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) was so innovative coming up with novel ideas, Supachai observed that it was because the 21-member panel was so diverse.

“Had the commission been composed narrowly of just law professionals, perhaps there wouldn’t be such innovation. They would have shared similar thoughts and had similar experiences and knowledge. But when you put together people from different professions, they propose many different things,” he explained, concluding that was why the draft was different from its predecessors in its crucial points.

The PM list was a good example of political creations brought about by the CDC and its subcommittee.

Supachai implied that the idea had emerged out of the intention to rebalance the three powers, which in the past decades had been overwhelmingly dominated by the executive branch, he said.

A directly elected premier could counterbalance a tough government, he said. But the idea had been dropped because it could not move in line with the Thai political culture, which involved the system of parliament and democracy with a constitutional monarchy, the political scientist drafter said.

“We tried to come up with the solution to the balancing of these powers. In the past, the executive was either too weak or too strong. But with the MMA system and the PM list shown to voters before ballot casting, the power of the legislative and the executive branches, as well as the independent agencies, could be balanced,” he explained. 

He said the committee had not adapted the system from Israel as had been misunderstood by some. Rather, drafters came up with the idea and then tried to identify countries that were using the same system so that it could be a reference for the public. CDC discussed and resolved the idea without acknowledging that Mexico was also using the single-ballot system, Supachai explained.

Supachai quoted chief charter drafter Meechai Ruchupan as saying the drafters should not worry about law writing. They should focus mainly on creating timeless principles as pillars to the new constitution. Meechai said the charter should not be so restricted or detailed that it would encumber a future elected government, Supachai said.

With the strong criticism currently being levelled at their political creation, some drafters are worried the draft might not pass a referendum. Supachai said he would not defend the stance or the idea, as it would not be useful.

“[To do that] the country wouldn’t go anywhere. We are just 21 people. Now we are doing the best we can. But if you have a better idea, you can always share it with us,” Supachai said.