'Read charter, you'll like it'

THE CHIEF charter drafter expressed confidence yesterday that voters would easily accept the constitution if they just read it and were not swayed by people attempting to distort what is in the document.

Meechai Ruchupan, chairman of the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), also said there would be no more coups if everyone followed the rules laid out in the new charter.

He urged everyone to read the charter because it is the supreme law that involves the country and all the citizens. Meechai asked that everyone try to understand it and hoped that all longstanding issues would be resolved with the help of this canon.

“I think if they [voters] really get to read this and are not persuaded by those distorting the draft, they will surely like the draft,” Meechai said, responding to a question if he was confident the draft would pass the referendum scheduled for August.

The constitution draft has been completed with a total of 279 articles under 17 chapters including the provisional clauses. A general election has been set for mid-2017 in line with the ruling junta’s road map.

CDC spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni said yesterday that the draft served the purpose of bringing the country through a period of transition as well as eradicating corruption.

After four days of deliberation in Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan, the charter writers managed to round off the first and the toughest part of their job – writing the constitution. The panel will continue at least until the referendum is held. If the charter is accepted by the public, they will serve for another eight months to complete 11 organic laws.

However, four essential organic laws related to elections would be the priority and would be ready within about a couple of months after the constitution is enacted. A general election, as stipulated in the charter draft, should take place within 150 days after those codes were enacted, the spokesman said.

People sitting on key political bodies of the current regime, namely the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), and the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA), would have to resign from their positions within 90 days after the constitution came into effect if they wished to run in a national election, Norachit said.

The initial draft consisted of 16 chapters in total. However, the drafters agreed to add a reform chapter, as requested by the NCPO and the NRSA. 

“It will help ensure that the reform plans are carried out properly. The timeframe has been set in the draft that within one year, the next government must take action and set a goal of what will be achieved after five years [of transition],” Norachit said.

In a separate interview, Meechai said yesterday that the draft is 99 per cent done. The drafters would spend the last two nights looking through it so that on Monday they could make corrections if any mistakes had occurred.

“After submitting the draft to the prime minister, we will also make it available to the public and the media. I understand that it is not easy to read. So, we will also provide a summarised version in a small booklet for everyone,” the veteran drafter said.

Asked how he would explain to pro-democracy groups critical of the draft, Meechai said he could not possibly convince them about how democratic the draft was because he did not know what kind of democracy they wanted. However, if they could specify what exactly was not democratic, then the drafters could explain to them.

“If they only say that this is not good and are not specific about how or why, then I do not know how I can help,” he said. “Those saying that this is undemocratic must read it first. You cannot just say so without stating exactly what is the democracy that you want.”

Asked if he was satisfied with the draft, Meechai responded that since he had worked on it, he had to say it was satisfactory. However, he said it did not meet his expectations 100 per cent but he added that the constitution was not just for him but for everyone, so he had to take others’ needs into account as well.

Politicians from the two big parties – Democrat and Pheu Thai – were critical of the charter draft.

Watchara Petchthong, a former Democrat MP, said the draft stands little chance of passing a referendum because the CDC had not heeded public comments and had agreed to have a Senate appointed by the NCPO.

Former Pheu Thai MP Amnuay Klangpha voiced similar opinions on the issue of Senate, stressing that the NCPO, which comprises a few members, get to choose 250 senators while millions of voters across the country get to choose 500 MPs. He questioned that could reflect equity in this country.