Council tipped to pass draft constitution

Council tipped to pass draft constitution

CDC members get to work lobbying as blueprint charter takes flak.

The controversial draft constitution is expected to win endorsement from the National Reform Council (NRC) with the help of some face-to-face political lobbying, an NRC insider says.

The source said the 36-member Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has assigned 20 of its members to specifically lobby the NRC to vote in favour of the blueprint charter, which comes as the draft faces mounting criticism.

Each CDC member has been tasked with persuading eight NRC members, meaning it plans for at least 160 council members to lodge votes of support.

The proposed charter will fail unless it receives a majority of yes-votes from the NRC -- at least half of its 249 members. The source said the expected 160 votes will be more than enough.

The NRC will vote on the draft on Sept 6. If the NRC approves the draft, a referendum on it is expected to be held in January. 

Another government source was also confident the draft charter will get the stamp of approval from the NRC as well as clearing the final referendum hurdle. 

The government source believed this draft charter would gain more support than the 2007 one.

In the 2007 charter referendum, the draft received more than 14.7 million votes in favour, while votes against it numbered about 10.7 million. However, it was later abrogated by the military leaders who staged the coup on May 22 last year.

While strongly criticising the current draft charter, former Pheu Thai MP Udomdej Rattanasathian Wednesday predicted that the NRC will eventually approve the document.

Mr Udomdej said when it comes to holding a referendum, the military-led government was expected to mobilise and make the most of its resources to smooth the way for the draft charter to pass the referendum -- just as in 2007.

The CDC held a press conference to explain the draft charter process to reporters.

CDC chairman Borwornsak Uwanno stressed that the draft charter is aimed at mending the political divide and preventing future conflicts.

The draft charter gives the public more rights and freedoms than the 1997 and 2007 charters did while pushing for reform and fostering national unity, Mr Borwornsak said.

He said the country is currently in a transition to full democracy and the so-called "crisis panel", or the National Strategic Reform and Reconciliation Committee, needs to be established with special powers to ensure a smooth transition.

The proposed committee is designed to prevent a crisis during the switch to democracy and to ensure that the new charter will not be "torn up" again, Mr Borwornsak said.

The committee's special powers will last five years after the new charter is enacted.

After five years, the country will enjoy fully-fledged democracy, he said.

The CDC chairman also urged the public to look at the big picture and the overall benefits the draft charter will offer, rather than measuring its worth through specific sections.

CDC spokesman Kamnoon Sidhisamarn said Thailand's political situation was unique.

There was a need for a "special tool" to prevent a severe crisis, Mr Kamnoon said.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said Wednesday that tool was the crisis panel.

"The committee will get involved only after the country is at a dead end. We don't want a coup to take place again," he said.

"The panel will step in when the country is in such a crisis that the use of the Internal Security Act and the executive decree for administration in an emergency situation cannot resolve it. The prime minister will chair the committee," Gen Prawit said.

Gen Prawit rejected the suggestion that the crisis panel could become a "state within a state" in times of political crisis, arguing that the committee's duties would not overlap with those of the executive branch.

Commenting on mounting calls for the NRC to reject the draft charter, Gen Prawit said it was up to the council to decide whether the crisis panel was acceptable or not when it votes on Sept 6.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva agreed Wednesday that if the draft charter is allowed to pass the NRC, it was also likely to win public endorsement.

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