Selected senators issue could sink new charter draft

And it is likely that the current Constitution Drafting Commission, chaired by Meechai Ruchupan, may end up meeting the same fate as its predecessor, the Constitution Drafting Committee, which was led by Borwornsak Uwanno.

At that time, nobody expected the draft constitution written by Borwornsak and his team would be rejected by the National Reform Council (NRC). For many observers, Borwornsak’s team seemed to be writing the draft charter in a way that met the demands of the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). But finally the draft failed to be put to a national referendum.

This time around, the head drafter is Meechai, a veteran law expert behind the drafting of many constitutions in the past. Observers expected him to succeed – by drafting a draft constitution that gets majority support in a national vote.

Like their predecessors led by Borwornsak, Meechai’s team is writing the new constitution in line with requirements set by the post-coup interim charter. However, their draft seems to be insufficient to please certain groups among the people in power.

It was said that Borwornsak’s draft was voted down by the NRC because there was no clause for selected senators appointed by the NCPO, as had been suggested by some members of National Legislative Assembly. It was rumoured the NLA members wanted to make a comeback to Parliament as senators.

A similar suggestion has re-emerged. This time around it comes from government figures, including Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who called for selected senators during a five-year transitional period after the next general election. Critics have called this “semi-democracy”.

A veteran like Meechai certainly does not want to make it too obvious. He is well aware that by clearly writing a clause on selected senators, his draft constitution has a good chance of being rejected in the referendum. That proposal for selected senators can be easily viewed as an attempt by the junta to stay on in power.

Meechai has insisted on the original draft, which calls for senators to be indirectly elected from among representatives from 20 occupations. Judging from his latest stance, it is unlikely that Meechai will yield to pressure over this matter.

The chief drafter and other CDC members were absent from Monday’s meeting of the core government agencies at Government House, where issues on the draft charter were also discussed. Meechai explained later he did not get an invitation to the meeting. He also said he was concerned he might be given a “binding obligation” in regard to the charter if he had been present at the meeting.

Meechai denied that he was afraid of being given “orders” from people in power in regard to revisions of the draft. He said the NCPO could instruct the drafters but that the CDC would decide whether to follow orders. “We will carefully consider the reasons and details,” he said.

It will be interesting to see what happens to this draft constitution if the drafters remain firm with their original draft, particularly the clauses involving senators.

Will the draft get full support from the people in power for ta referendum? Or will they let the draft fail the vote so that they can write a new constitution that fully satisfies them?