Meechai heading CDC 'could face opposition'
EKACHAI SRIVILAS, a former National Reform Council member, warned yesterday that the possibility of Meechai Ruchuphan becoming chairman the new Constitution Drafting Committee could arouse opposition from the relatives of the May 1992 heroes and other fac
Fierce attacks could be provoked especially if the new draft turns out to be similar to the previous one, because Meechai is the National Council for Peace and Order’s man, he said.
The new CDC should be made up of representatives of different parties, Ekachai said. A couple of politicians had apparently been approached to join the committee by the NCPO’s Reconciliation for Reform Centre so that they could voice what those in power wanted to see in the charter. However, Ekachai did not know whether those politicians had accepted the offer.
The new members should not include too many of the framers of the constitutions of 1997 and 2007 as well as earlier editions, he said. There should be new faces, as the past attempts had failed to solve “problems”.
The new drafters should have legal backgrounds, he said.
They should have experience in the political arena. And third, they should be able to compromise and listen to every stakeholder, which is very important.
One of the reasons the previous draft got shot down was that the CDC didn’t listen to anyone, he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said Meechai still had not accepted the invitation to chair the CDC and he would discuss the matter with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha before responding to the request.
However, the new CDC line-up would have to be finalised and published in the Royal Gazette by Monday, he said.
There is likely a list of 30-40 candidates with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, Wissanu said.
RELATED