The drafting of a new charter draft is completed and will be submitted to the government on Tuesday as scheduled, Constitution Drafting Committee chairman Meechai Ruchupan says.
Speaking after a four-day retreat in Hua Hin, Mr Meechai said all that is left to be done at this stage is proofreading.
After handing over the final draft to the government, the CDC will embark on a new challenge — to educate the public about the content before a planned referendum in early August.
Mr Meechai said the draft charter is designed to cater to the country’s pressing need for reform, which is exclusively addressed in a separate chapter.
According to the CDC chief, authorities who are responsible for pushing for reform-related draft laws will be transferred if they fail to do their jobs within their deadline.
“It’s the first time that the charter imposes punitive measures.
"The previous charters didn’t, so state officials saw no need to do anything. We hope these efforts will pay off in the long term,” he said.
The Meechai panel has spent six months working on the draft, after the one drawn up by the Borwornsak committee was rejected by the defunct National Reform Council last year.
CDC spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni said four charter-accompanying bills will be drawn up to pave the way for a general election, which is expected to be held within 150 days after the enforcement of the charter.
These bills involve the elections of MPs, the elections of senators, the political parties and the Election Commission and they should be completed six months after the charter passes the planned referendum.
On the reform front, the CDC has discussed seven topics at length: politics, national administration, laws, the justice administration system, education, economic affairs and other fields.
The National Reform Steering Assembly and the National Legislative Assembly are required to pass a bill to implement the reforms within 120 days of the charter's enforcement. The proposed law will include public participation and assessment.
A source said police reform is deemed to be the focus of the justice system reform, especially a system governing the transfer and promotion of police officers. A committee will be set up to improve related laws to ensure a fair and efficient system within one year.
Last week, Mr Meechai came under pressure to redesign parts of the draft charter after the military regime issued proposals on how the draft should be redone.
Mr Meechai came out in defence of the CDC’s decision to let the military regime have the last word on the appointment of all 250 senators, saying it is not an attempt to help the junta hold on to power.
He also discounted claims that appointed senators will be instrumental in prolonging the military’s grip on power.