The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) will extend its charter drafting period for another 30 days, citing a need to restructure sections on reforms and reconciliation.
The extension will affect the original dates in the roadmap to general elections next year as the National Reform Council (NRC), which was scheduled to receive the final version of the draft charter tomorrow, must now wait until Aug 22.
CDC spokesman Gen Lertrat Ratanavanich said Tuesday CDC members were handling "a large number of requests for amendments" from the NRC and the cabinet, with some involving changes to the charter's content structure. The extension was necessary because "we want to do the job carefully, no matter what the revisions are," he said.
The CDC is exercising its right granted by the amended interim charter to grant itself more time to get the job done. It will be the 20th constitution since the change from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in 1932.
The country is currently using an interim charter, drafted after the May 22 coup last year. The temporary charter lays down the processes and timing for drafting the new constitution, and the roadmap that will pave the way for a return to democracy.
The NRC is the key organisation that will decide the fate of the draft charter. According to the interim charter, the council has 15 days to consider the final version before voting in favour or against it.
A rejection would lead to the dissolution of the CDC and the drafting process starting again — a result which will further delay the next general election.
CDC members had also discussed a report that NRC members plan to hold forums nationwide to gauge people's opinions of the draft charter, and may use them as "a guideline" for their voting, a source said Tuesday.
CDC members are divided on this issue, the source said. Some question whether the committee can make public the draft charter content before the NRC vote, while others say it doesn't matter as its content will be eventually unveiled to people who will vote on it in a planned referendum.
The previous version of the draft charter drew heavy criticism from NRC members, the cabinet and politicians. Political parties raised concerns over the German-style mixed member proportional representation system, a new voting system that would partly use popular votes to determine the number of MPs for each party.
The cabinet, meanwhile, demanded changes to more than 100 points, and asked for clarity on how a future government will carry out reforms and reconciliation.
The draft charter's Section 111 was also criticised for prohibiting some politicians under the Thaksin camp from running in an election. CDC member Paiboon Nititawan, also a NRC member, cited a CDC memorandum of intent that says only politicians who are red-carded for election fraud cannot apply as election candidates.
But the law does not cover party executives who have their election rights suspended for five years, he said.
Before the CDC sends the final version of the draft charter to the NRC, it will invite NRC members and the cabinet to a backgrounder on Aug 17 and 19, Gen Lertrat said.
