A sub-committee of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has proposed future prime ministers be selected by the House of Representatives as was stipulated in the 2007 constitution.
The proposal goes against the one put forward by Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva which calls for the direct election of prime ministers, and which was supported by several National Reform Council members. Sujit Boonbongkarn, chairman of the CDC's third sub-committee on political leaders and institutions, said his panel concluded that the prime minister should still be selected by the House of Representatives, not by popular election, before the selected prime minister picks the cabinet ministers.
A majority of the sub-committee's members backed that resolution while the minority proposed the cabinet be directly elected by voters, said Mr Sujit.
The majority of committee members argued the current system doesn't lead to political chaos but rather politicians themselves cause political problems.
The sub-committee also proposed there should only be 350 MPs — composed of both elected and party-list MPs — compared to the 500 under the 2007 charter.
The proposal would be submitted to the CDC for further consideration.
Meanwhile, another sub-committee has proposed leaving the country's system of four courts unchanged and maintaining the same approach of forming the cabinet as stated in the 2007 constitution.
Banjerd Singkhaneti, chairman of the CDC's seventh sub-committee on the principles of law, courts, and checks and balances on the use of state power, said no change was proposed to the configuration of the Constitutional Court, the Courts of Justice, the Administrative Court, and the military court.
The NRC committee on reform of the law and justice process, meanwhile, has agreed to propose a top-to-tail restructuring of the police service which would decentralise power to regional and local levels, committee spokesman Wanchai Sornsiri said.
Mr Wanchai said the committee agreed Tuesday that the Royal Thai Police Office should be reorganised.
Under the proposal, the Office of the Police Commission, which is responsible for transfers and appointments, would be abolished.