This means that senators should serve as a buffer against any parliamentary “grey” moves, and hence prevent any repetition of the state of upheaval experienced prior to the May 2014 coup, he reasoned.

“Elected MPs can also be trusted, but sometimes they have to act in accordance with the directions of their party, which might have a particular ambition. This leads to things going wrong,” he said at a press conference on the charter draft’s completion and submission to the Cabinet yesterday.

Meechai also said a party-free Senate would be “very helpful”, as it would not accede to “irregularities” such as the ill-intentioned constitutional amendment or the proposed blanket amnesty bill in 2013, which caused a national upheaval leading to the coup the following year.

“Actually, it only requires one-third of the Senate to approve a constitutional amendment [under the draft charter],” he said.

“However, our rationale behind this is that we do not want the parliamentary majority to just make any call without considering the minority. Rather, things should be sorted out with the agreement of everyone. This way, reconciliation can be achieved,” he added.

In the draft, the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) had written the provisional clauses on the non-elected Senate in line with a proposal from the so-called four rivers of power, even though it had been made less than two weeks before the deadline for the draft’s completion – and stirred up controversy.

Meechai explained that the CDC had been convinced by the military regime’s grounds that it had not been able to achieve some the things it deemed beneficial to the country, including implementation of the national reform plans, which it had promised the people.

“However, we cannot just give them the power [to accomplish their goals] without considering the elected members of the House of Representatives. So, we need this [selected] Senate to help push the reform,” the CDC chairman said.

He stressed that having a selected as opposed to an elected Senate was common in many countries.

There is no need to worry about international criticism, as each country has to take care of its own internal affairs, he added.

The waiver of the premier candidate list, as set out in the provisional clauses and deemed by many as paving the way for an ‘outsider’ prime minister, has been another concern raised about the constitution draft.

In response, Meechai reiterated that political parties would be responsible for determining who became the prime minister.

“Firstly, the majority of MPs have to agree to take the matter to Parliament. Then, in order to waive the premier list, two-thirds of the votes from both Houses are required,” he said.

“It is not that the Senate can select a PM, but that it can waive the use of the list,” he stressed.

The CDC chief also said it would depend on the political parties as to whether the PM would be an outsider or an MP, and the charter writers should not be the ones taking the blame.