Politicians also TO BLAME for charter chopping

The authors will now discuss what changes, if any, should be made to the document. Many of the drafters, particularly CDC chief Borwornsak Uwanno, have voiced opposition to changes suggested by politicians, suspicious that they seek simply to protect their own interests. Borwornsak went so far as to say that the new constitution was designed to serve all the people, not just a few thousand politicians.

However, many of the revisions suggested by government ministers and NRC members are similar to those proposed by politicians. These include a clause that would allow a non-parliamentarian prime minister, giving the prime minister power to issue special laws, and a complex new voting system.

The draft still has to pass several tests before it becomes our new constitution. These include a vote by the NRC on whether to endorse it, and then an expected national referendum.

If it passes into law, the charter will be the country’s 20th since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. The reason we have had so many constitutions is that they are abolished and rewritten each time the military seizes power in a coup. And Thailand has witnessed 13 successful coups in the modern era, more than any other country in the world.

Former prime minister Chavalit 

 Yongchaiyudh said recently that this latest constitution would likely meet the same fate and be torn up as soon as the next military takeover occurs.

In fact, politicians also share the blame in the scrapping of constitutions, particularly after the latest coups, in 2006 and last year. The run-up to each was marked by bloody political disputes that threatened to escalate into armed conflict. The military’s intervention faced little opposition from the citizenry, but rather widespread relief that chaos had been averted.

Before staging a coup, the military has tended to wait until it has sufficient “excuses” and public support to stave off any strong opposition to its seizure of power. The rationale usually centres on a purported breakdown in public order that threatens the security and stability of the nation.

In order to prevent the next constitution from being torn up, we have to avoid the circumstances that would provide the military with excuses to stage yet another coup. 

Politicians can do much in this regard. In a bid to win legitimacy for their action of ousting a democratically elected government, the military often cites rampant corruption in the administration, severe political violence, the authorities’ inability to control the situation, and the risk of the country becoming a “failed state”. In most cases, the coup-makers have succeeded in convincing the majority of citizens and thus gaining legitimacy.

If politicians made greater efforts to reduce the extent of corruption as well as political conflict and violence, they would effectively remove the opportunity for the military to claim that a coup is inevitable.