CONCERN HAS increased with the likelihood that the post-coup interim charter will be in place longer if the new draft constitution fails to pass a national referendum.

Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) chairman Meechai Ruchupan said yesterday that the current charter would stay in place if the new draft charter were rejected by the public.

“If the draft doesn’t pass the plebiscite, it means we do not have a constitution. What’s left is the present charter. It would still be in effect,” he said before the CDC’s daily meeting.

Meechai was referring to the interim charter imposed by the military after its 2014 coup, CDC spokesman Chartchai Na Chiangmai told The Nation yesterday.

Politicians are worried harsh and strict provisions in the interim charter, as well as special powers under the controversial Article 44, will remain in effect for too long. And that would mean a further delay in the next general election, which is currently expected to be held around the middle of next year.

Red-shirt leaders have threatened to campaign against the charter draft, although the country’s largest political parties, Pheu Thai and the Democrats, have not made their standpoints clear.

The interim charter does not have clear provisions in case a new draft charter is rejected in a national vote.

The CDC chief said it would be inappropriate to include such conditions, adding “then nobody would care even to read the draft”. Besides, Meechai said, including provisions in case the draft is rejected could signify that the draft was so “poor” that there needed to be a “plan B” even before it was finished.

Should this draft charter fail in a national vote, many observers expect the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to appoint yet another constitutional drafting panel, pick a previous charter or write an entirely new constitution.

Democrat Party deputy leader Nipit Intrasombat yesterday said Meechai was right that the interim charter would continue to be in effect if the draft fails. It is the junta’s job to make clear what would happen after the referendum, he said.

The politician added that if the charter failed, the “road map to democracy” would be killed and the election postponed. The military-installed government would continue to stay in power.

‘Clear timeframe’

“Everything needs a time frame. It should be stipulated clearly what’s next if the draft does not pass a plebiscite. The National Council for Peace and Order has to decide on this. Just to continue staying in power is not going to be easy,” Nipit said.

Weng Tojirakarn, a leader of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), yesterday said continuing with the current interim charter was tantamount to returning to dictatorship.

He said the interim charter contained draconian provisions such as Article 44 that granted absolute power to the NCPO head, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

“It will solely depend on the military-installed government and its [decision] what to do if the charter draft is rejected,” he said.

Pheu Thai Party executive Chaturon Chaisang said it would be a normal practice to adhere to the current law if the draft proposal were rejected.

However, Chaturon agreed that the junta would have a difficult task deciding the next move, including planning for another drafting process and returning the Kingdom to democracy as fast as possible.

“It’s impossible to stay under the interim charter forever,” he said.

Many are calling for amendments to the interim charter to cover relevant issues, as well as to clarify the ambiguous Article 37, which is widely interpreted as requiring a draft charter to gain the majority of votes of all eligible voters rather than those who actually turn out to vote.

Meechai said yesterday that an amendment was unnecessary as long as key players – the so-called “five rivers” organisations that have exercised power since the coup – had a common perception that the Article 37 stipulation referred to “the majority of voters who turn out”. But he added that if there were questions among the post-coup agencies, it was not the CDC’s business.

Another question has been raised whether the issue would delay a referendum if someone lodges a complaint with the Constitutional Court requesting a clarification. Meechai responded that the government could consult the court before making a decision whether to amend the draft charter.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is in charge of the government’s legal affairs, yesterday said authorities were considering what to do if the draft charter fails to pass in a referendum.

“The NCPO will not remain in power forever. The road map has a clear time frame,” he said, adding that Prayut has said the next general |election will be held in July 2017.