Draft charter ‘is close to completion’
Play
THE Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) is close to completing the first version of the draft charter, which should be ready soon for a public referendum, an official said yesterday.
The commission still has to add proposals from state agencies and the public that were presented to the CDC panel led by Thitipan Chuaboonchai during public hearings from the Kingdom’s three regions.
The CDC panel will next week study the proposals and decide if they are acceptable. .
Once the draft charter is ready, the CDC will hold a meeting in Phetchaburi province to discuss the content article by article from January 11 to 17, and it should be wrapped up and ready for hearings by January 29.
The Cabinet, the National Legislative Assembly and public will have 15 days to study the draft as part of public hearings from February 1-5, as stipulated in the 2014 interim charter.
Public hearings will be held in four regions, in the provinces of Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Surat Thani and Bangkok from January 30 to February 14.
The CDC will then study public opinion and consider adjusting the draft before it goes to a referendum.
Meanwhile, Seree Suwanpanont chairman of the National Reform Steering Commission’s political reform committee, said yesterday that allowing family members of MPs to apply to be candidates for the Senate was acceptable, because the Upper House would not have the capacity to impeach politicians.
Seree was responding after the CDC proposed in the charter draft that family members of MPs can apply to be Senate candidates.
He said that even though there had been restrictions, the Senate election was linked with political parties in some way. “We should face the reality and install a strong checks system,’’ he said.
Having professional groups vote for other groups to prevent “bloc vote” in indirect election of senators was not an effective solution, he said, because he believed senators could find ways to collude.
Seree expressed concern that the new charter draft has yet to find ways to prevent capitalists from dominating the country’s politics, especially the way nominees of party-list MPs were drafted. “We will not get away from the vicious cycle of corruption,’’ he said.
He suggested that the powers of the legislative and executive branches be clearly separated because as long as MPs can become ministers, MPs and ministers would depend on one another for vested interests. “Our politics will not be reformed but only an election system is changed,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Thaworn Senneam, director of the Great Mass of People’s Foundation for Thailand’s Reforms, called on the Pheu Thai Party to |stop thinking of setting up a |national unity government.
He said the National Council for Peace and Order had vowed to follow the democracy road map. He said the country could achieve national reconciliation if the authorities strictly enforce law and not kow-tow to the government.
“If there is no agency to check the government, corruption will be rife. Those who floated the idea of a national unity government assume the country can move forward by not having bodies to check,’’ he said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s duty was to reform the country and follow the democracy road map and prevent corruption. He called on Prayut to bring about solidarity in the military.
“If there is no solidarity in the military, reform cannot be achieved. Corruption is rife. If I have a chance, I will reveal in Parliament how officials buy their way to higher powerful posts,” he said.
