Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) chairman Meechai Ruchupan said yesterday that the drafters would rework the plan for writing organic laws.

The CDC is seeking to readjust the time span for writing the organic laws from eight months to five to six months instead.

Meechai had said earlier that because as many as 10 organic laws had to be written, it was likely the next election would be held late next year. However, Prayut on Tuesday stuck to his July 2017 schedule, repeating his earlier promise.

Initially, the transitory provisional clauses stipulated that 10 organic laws be written and completed within eight months after the constitution is promulgated. But that would delay the road map proposed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) by a couple of months.

The drafters yesterday said they would write only five or six organic laws, sufficient for an election to take place. They would consult with the Election Commission as to which laws should be prioritised, Meechai said.

However, the chief drafter pleaded that if necessary, the road map could still be deferred for 15 to 20 days. Also, Meechai expressed concerns over the strong criticism of the charter draft. He said it was a “Thai thing” for people to believe what they hear even though the information might be inaccurate. “And then they keep criticising based on such false news,” he said.

Meanwhile, at the daily press briefing yesterday, CDC spokesman Amorn Wanichwiwatana explained about a new television program called “Unveiling the New Constitution” to be broadcast twice daily, after the national anthem at 8am and 6 pm.

“It isn’t that we’re trying to cover your eyes and ears or brainwash you. It’s just that we see the constitution is important and we want to communicate with everyone, especially when some people are trying to distort our work. Plus, each episode is only three minutes long,” the spokesman said.

He added that the idea came from the charter drafters, and not the NCPO.