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April 12, 2007 Draft Thai Charter Calls For Elected PM But critics say other provisions reflect priorities of the ruling elite By Thailand Correspondent, Nirmal Ghosh Straits Times IN BANGKOK - DRAFTERS working on a potentially controversial new Constitution have allayed some concerns by opting for an elected prime minister. But some other provisions from the more than 300 articles have cemented the widespread view that the new charter reflects the priorities of Bangkok's ruling elite rather than Thailand's broader population. The 25:7 vote on Tuesday in favour of an elected premier scuttled some conservatives' plans to return to an era of appointed prime ministers - which liberals had warned would not go down well with the public. The size of Parliament's Lower House will be reduced from 500 to 400. Of these, 80 would be 'party list' MPs - those who get into Parliament based on the number of votes garnered by their parties nationwide. The number has been reduced from 100. Previously, parties qualified to get their list MPs into Parliament if they garnered at least 5 per cent of the votes cast nationally. The drafters have proposed reducing this benchmark to 2 per cent, arguing that it will give smaller parties a chance to get their people into the House. The last Parliament was heavily dominated by a single party - the Thai Rak Thai - in a scenario that the current military-backed government does not want to see again. The Senate would be reduced from 200 to 160, with members to be appointed, not elected. The previous Senate was elected. There is deep scepticism among the current ruling elite over the idea that an elected Senate could be neutral - as was the intent under the 1997 Constitution. Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra had successfully co-opted or undermined the Senate. With the Senate given the task of appointing members of key institutions which are meant to serve as checks and balances to the executive, that effectively neutralised those institutions as well. A Senate appointed by senior members of Bangkok's ruling elite, however, would bring its own set of problems, say critics. 'The government will think on behalf of the people and act like Big Brother,' pro-democracy activist Rosana Tositrakul told the Bangkok Post. The drafters have proposed a committee to meet and resolve national crises. They have also specified that once the House is dissolved in preparation for an election, the Cabinet would serve as a conditional interim body, with outsiders inducted into government to run the administration until the election. Several steps and potential complications remain in the process of arriving at a new Constitution - which will reset Thailand's political and administrative systems. Public hearings will be organised after April 19, when copies of the draft charter will be released and distributed. Deliberations within the Constitutional Drafting Committee and the larger Constitutional Drafting Assembly will be followed by a referendum, probably in September. 'The bottom line is, public participation has been reduced compared to the 1997 Constitution,' Chulalongkorn University political science professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak told The Straits Times. 'It is an elitist, top-down approach which does not respect the will of the masses,' he said, cautioning that there was a 'growing likelihood' of the proposed Constitution being rejected in the referendum. The military government's Council for National Security has said that if the proposed Constitution fails at the referendum, it will take one of Thailand's 17 former charters and promulgate it after some amendments. But a failure at the referendum would be a big blow to the credibility of the government. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access |