Roundup: Thai draft charter turned down by reform council

A Thai draft constitution was rejected by the National Reform Council on Sunday, resulting in a rewriting of the charter in a 180-days time.

Members of the council cast 135 votes to turn down the 124-page draft constitution,one of the longest in the world prepared by a constitution drafting committee, compared to 105 votes given in favor of it.

The aborted charter would otherwise have led to the setting up of the so-called Strategic Council for National Reform and Reconciliation with absolute authority and independence from the executive, legislative and judicial branches, the possible naming of a non-elected prime minister by a post-election parliament and the naming of non-elected senators by an ad hoc government committee.

Many members of the NRC, which is now dissolved, expressed strong dissent to the draft charter which, they said, would have sowed critical conflict of opinion among varied sectors of Thai society.

So did the country's major political parties, namely the Democrat Party headed by ex-premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, and the Pheu Thai (for Thais) Party once headed by deposed premier Yingluck Shinawatra.

"The principles of democratic rule had been largely compromised and distorted by such draft charter. It would unnecessarily leave problematic clauses which would by no means warrant the people's powers which should be invariably maintained as basis for democratic rule," said Direk Thuengfang, one of those reform councilors who voted against it.

He said the new constitution drafting committee will very likely amend those controversial provisions pertaining to the naming of a non-elected head of government and senators as well as the setting up of the Strategic Council for National Reform and Reconciliation.

Due to the disapproval of the charter, a new constitution drafting committee will be set up in a 30-days time from now and the 21-person panel will be given the 180-days time to do the job.

The future draft charter will undergo a nationwide public referendum for approval in a 30-days time after it has been finished by the panel.

Organic laws pertaining to general elections for legislators will be made in a 90-days time if the public referendum says yes to the draft charter. In that case, the elections would not be likely before April 2017, according to analysts.

It remains to be seen whether the new charter-drafting panel will revise those controversial provisions which apparently prompted the reform councilors to turn down the whole draft charter.

Such clauses were primarily criticized for being essentially " undemocratic" and terminally pursuant to military rule, however.

In the meantime, the interim government under Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has risen to power by way of a May, 2014 coup, will continue to run the country until the next election has been held. Endi