The new draft charter is facing heavy criticism on all fronts. The barbs do not only come from independent observers and major political parties, namely Pheu Thai and the Democrats, but also from the National Reform Council (NRC) and the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).
Since the draft charter needs endorsement from the NRC and the NLA, their criticism suggests many changes will be needed to the draft charter.
The NRC committee on political reform is convening in Pattaya today and tomorrow to dissect six main issues in the draft charter.
They are the parliamentary system, specifically on the elections of MPs and senators as well as parliamentary checks-and-balances mechanisms; the selection method of cabinet ministers and monitoring system of the executive branch; relations between the cabinet government and parliament; independent agencies and the monitoring system of state agencies; political parties; and the election system.
The eventual draft charter will be sent to the NRC for endorsement during April 20-26. All eyes are on the Pattaya meeting and the attacks on the controversial provisions that will receive major surgery.
Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, chairman of the NRC political reform committee, was in the Borwornsak Uwanno team which went to Germany to study the German electoral system. He does not think it suits Thailand.
According to Mr Sombat, the German system is too complicated and confusing, even to the Germans. The MMP, or mixed member proportional representation system is also problematic, he added.
Both Pheu Thai and Democrats - though rival parties - are united in their fierce opposition to the MMP system. Not only will this system weaken political parties, it will also create internal conflicts in their own parties, particularly among MP and party-list candidates in the same constituency.
Under this system, the votes for party-list MPs will used in the calculation formula to decide the number of representatives in that particular constituency.
For example, if the party-list MPs get a high number of votes in the election zone where constituency MP candidates fail to get elected, that party will still be represented in that constituency by its party-list MPs.
This new calculation system will enable the Democrat Party to have representatives in the Pheu Thai-dominated Northeast. Likewise, Pheu Thai will should be able to gain a presence in the Democrat-dominated South.
This is because a party which has already reached the full limit of constituency MPs in that region will not be able to have its party-list MPs there.
This system will prevent geographical dominance of parties, which led to political divisions in the past, said Anek Laothammathat, a member of the charter drafting committee on political reconciliation.
As if it is not complicated enough, the new party-list MP electoral system is an adapted version of the German closed-list system.
Called an open-list system, it will allow voters to rank the candidates themselves. The former ranking system was decided by party leaders and core members.
It is why the party's main financiers tend to be ranked high in the list, which gives them a better opportunity to be cabinet ministers.
By respecting the voters' decision on who they want to govern the country, the new system gives no guarantee to party leaders and bigwigs that they will be elected.
The drafters said this is a true test of politicians' popularity based on their performance.
Fierce debates are likely at the Pattaya meeting on these controversial issues. But the drafting committee insists the principles of the new charter should remain intact.
Sujit Boonbongkarn, CDC deputy chairman, said some provisions will be amended for more clarity, particularly the calculation methods of the number of MPs.
"We're ready to listen to their input, but we cannot say we will follow every amendment proposal," said Mr Sujit.
From May 27 to July 29, the CDC will seek recommendations from the National Council for Peace and Order, the NLA, the NRC, and the public.
Changes to controversial sections is possible, but not to key principles of the new charter, Mr Sujit insisted.
The whole four months of charter drafting will be wasted if its principles are tampered with, he said.
Meanwhile, political parties will keep up their fight for changes to the electoral system.
In addition to making it more difficult for politicians to win an election, the new charter also robs them of executive power to make policies.
Much power will be transferred to the NRC which will determine policies towards reform in all sectors.
Politicians, under the new system, cannot appoint permanent secretaries, set policies, or make budget decisions.
No political parties want a charter that robs of them decision-making power, that is for sure. The charter is likely to be adopted and an election held next year.
Whether or not this experimental charter can usher in a more sustainable democratic system remains to be seen.
Nattaya Chetchotiros is Assistant News Editor, Bangkok Post.