Charter 'must win public trust'
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LEGAL EXPERT BACKS POLL SYSTEM PROPOSED IN ABORTED CHARTER
THE charter drafters should write a constitution that is convincing to the public, especially concerning the electoral method, so that it can pass the national referendum, Parinya Thewanarumitkul, a legal expert, said yesterday.
“The best system is the fairest one,” the Thammasat University law professor said, while admitting that there was no perfect procedure.
Comparing the recent polling proposals – party list, the so-called mixed member proportional system and the mixed member apportionment system, Parinya said the second concept, which had been introduced by the now defunct constitution drafting committee led by Borwornsak Uwanno, was the fairest.
Under that system, the total MP seats of each party would be calculated from the votes it received nationwide.
For example, if party A won 50 per cent of the votes nationwide, out of the 500 seats in Parliament, it would get 250.
And if it had already won 200 constituency seats, then it could have 50 seats for party-list MPs.
This was the fairest because it reflected a party’s true popularity. The party-list formula used in the past favoured big parties by giving them more seats than they deserved.
The MMA system, which was recently tabled by the new team of framers led by Meechai Ruchupan, was, on the other end, comparable to the party-list system.
It weakens big parties, which would gain less seats when the party-list system gave them more seats.
The MMP is in the middle of the two and gives parties seats in line with their popularity, so it is the fairest of them all.
The problem with Thai politics is that MPs represent their party when they should represent the people.
To fix that flaw, independent MPs should also be allowed. However, this does not mean MPs under parties is a bad idea. It is still important because that is what makes party’s policies strong.
As for the Senate, if it will end up with less power, such as by losing its impeachment authority, then an indirect election is acceptable.
However, it should be truly an indirect election, meaning the senators should be elected by those elected by the people.
The charter needs to clear the plebiscite to make sure the road map stays on track, he added.
