To avoid a political stalemate, the 2014 interim constitution must be amended if the draft charter fails to pass the public referendum on Aug 7, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Thursday.
He said the amendment was necessary because a new charter could not be simply rewritten by somebody and put in force.
Since the 2014 interim charter in effect today does not tell what to do next if the draft charter, written by the Meechai Ruchupan-led Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), fails to pass the referendum, it must be amended to answer four questions, Mr Wissanu said.
They are: who would draft a new constitution; how to draft it and for how long; and what to do next after the new draft constitution is completed.
He did not say whether a referedum would be held again for the new draft.
Mr Wissanu said after the amendment answering all these questions was endorsed, the amended interim charter would go into effect.
He said the amendment could be made either before or after the Aug 7 referendum date.
"We also have to be prepared what to do next if the draft charter is approved in the referendum," Mr Wissanu said.
Asked what would happen if the draft charter was rejected and some groups came out to say the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) no longer had the legitimacy to draft another one, Mr Wissanu declined to answer.
On reports that letters showing some points of the Meechai draft charter which the CDC found distorted had been found in many provinces, Mr Wissanu said it was being investigated.
Most of the letters were reportedly found in the North and some in the Northeast.
He said that authorities had explained to the recipients of the letters about the distortions.
On the bright side, Mr Wissanu said this could be a chance to turn a crisis into an opportunity.
"It could serve as a wake-up call for some people, who may have been indifferent about what's going on in the country. Now they know there would soon be a public referendum on a new draft charter," he said.
Asked whether attempts were made to buy votes, Mr Wissanu said he personally did not think this was the case.
He added that he did not believe anybody would spend to buy votes in the referendum.
If the Meechai constituion is rejected and a new one is to be written again, it will be the third attempt by the regime. The first CDC, led by Borwornsak Uwanno, wrote the draft which it was later rejected by the now-defunct National Reform Council.
In any case, the prime minister has said he will keep the roadmap, which envisages a general election next year. He said last week he might write the new constituion himself if the Meechai draft was turned down but later explained it was just a figure of speech.
