CDC inundated with charter draft recommendations
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The Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) has been flooded with recommendations for the charter draft and is seeking a means to process the proposals.
Since unveiling its first charter draft on January 26, the CDC has been inundated with recommendations from various sectors, including the forums it is organising in all regions.
Yesterday saw the third forum opened for representatives from the Central and the Eastern regions, while the South will get its latest forum next weekend. Principal agencies including the Cabinet must deliver their recommendations by Monday.
CDC spokesman Chartchai na Chiangmai said the panel had received numerous comments and recommendations from the people-based forums, and it has tried to forge a basis for consideration of the proposals so as not leave any out.
Chartchai said the CDC would divide comments and recommendations into three main groups. The first group would cover comments considered complimentary, and detailed recommendations for the draft. The CDC would consider taking them into account in the organic law enactment process.
The second group would be recommendations concerning wording which would have no impact on the structural design or principles in the draft. For instance, many people have voiced a wished to see community rights addressed in the Rights and Freedom Chapter, in addition to the Duties of State Chapter. So the CDC would consider adding these phrases to the charter draft to assure people’s rights, he said.
The last group would involve proposals to remove and replace what was written in the draft, and they potentially could affect the structural design or principles of the charter. For instance, some people proposed dropping the single ballot for the Senate. The CDC would take these proposals into account in its charter draft revision process. For proposals that are rejected, it would try to give detailed explanations of the CDC’s decisions, he said.
The CDC would start reviewing recommendations gathered from the forums as well as from proposals made by key agencies on February 16, and continue shaping the charter until the last week of March, before submitting the final version to the Cabinet for consideration, Chartchai said.
