Meechai Ruchupan, chairman of the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), pointed to “a lot of attempts at distorting” issues related to the draft written by his team.

He rejected allegations that the CDC wanted to have a non-MP become prime minister by not clearly stating that a government head also had to be an MP as had been specified in the 1997 and 2007 constitutions.

The CDC chief said all PM candidates nominated by political parties might not be MPs when the list is submitted to the Election Commission (EC). “But how can they be sure if their PM candidates will be elected?” Meechai asked. “People who tell you that the CDC favours a non-MP prime minister, they are lying. It is us, the voters, who choose the prime minister.”

The chief drafter also rejected the perception that the new charter would impinge on the rights of communities and individuals, saying the CDC had based this clause on the 1997 and 2007 provisions on this matter.

“Our conviction is to ensure that the stated constitutional rights are actually applied to one and all, not just those who fight for their rights. That’s why the CDC wrote in the charter that it is the government’s duty to ensure everybody has the same rights, or it will be regarded as a violation of the constitution,” he said.

Meechai added that there were moves to distort the constitutional clauses about community rights. “Some people wrongly claim that the CDC has removed everything related to community rights. I am not sure if they have read the draft. We mention community rights in six provisions in the draft charter,” he said.

The CDC chairman added that the new constitution would not be exactly the same as the two previous ones because the problems faced by the country are different now.

However, he added, all the rights and liberties guaranteed by the previous charters are included in the new one. “But we made some revisions to make it bolder,” he added, without elaborating.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday called on people to read the charter draft carefully themselves instead of listening to claims being made by politicians, Government Spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.

In a related development, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is in charge of the government’s legal affairs, said yesterday that relevant state agencies would convene next Wednesday to discuss whether people who obstruct the referendum on the draft charter should be punished. He added that the EC had set regulations on the plebiscite, but had not set penalties in relation to this matter.

National Legislative Assembly president Pornpetch Vichitcholchai yesterday called on the government to amend the post-coup interim charter to clarify whether the draft needs approval by a majority of actual votes cast and not a majority of all eligible voters.