Suriyasai Katasila, deputy dean of Rangsit University’s College of Social Innovation, said this “may become the weakness of the charter draft that overshadows the positive points of the draft”. “The Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) must quickly disseminate the strengths of the draft in addressing political and reform issues,” he said.

The CDC will make final revisions to the charter draft today before forwarding it for Cabinet approval, CDC spokesman Amorn Wanitwiwat said.

The CDC has revised 279 articles of the charter draft by taking into account suggestions from all sectors.

The CDC will review the final wording before delivering the final revised version to the Cabinet tomorrow.

The drafting of the charter will be completed within the 180-day period required by the interim charter of 2014, and CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan will hold a press conference to talk about the draft’s implications.

The CDC will explain the draft to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) and other state bodies on Wednesday.

Amorn said the CDC had taken on board some suggestions from the four major government bodies that it believed were reasonable and did not bow to pressure to change the draft. All the suggestions were presented to the commission.

NRSA deputy chairman Alongkorn Ponlaboot lauded the CDC for sticking to the roadmap for a return to democracy and the commitment to hold a general election next year. The CDC also included the reform roadmap in the charter draft as suggested by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the NLA and the NRSA.

“It is unprecedented that the charter would have such a reform roadmap,” Alongkorn said.

He said the NRSA would question the CDC tomorrow about the election system, the new checks and balances for Parliament, and the local and central administrations, including the drafting of related organic laws.

Former charter writer Kanin Bunsuwan called on the junta to reveal what its next move would be if the charter draft does not pass the public referendum.

“We want to know if the public rejects the draft, will the junta appoint a new charter writing team or bring a previous charter into use? Keeping mum on this point is not good for the country as we are facing uncertainty again,” he said.

Former foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul criticised the NCPO and the government for rejecting proposals from all groups that were designed to make a democratic charter.

“Our calls have fallen on deaf ears. They [the junta] only want the charter to be written the way they wanted from the beginning. I feel sorry for Thai people,” he said.