The 477 “Kru Kor” representatives include five representatives from each of 76 provinces, 20 from Bangkok, and 77 from the Community Organisations Development Institute, comprising one from each province.

Although the training on Wednesday and Thursday went smoothly, the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) was unable to clarify some questions posed by the specialists.

The specialists include members of professional groups, students, public administrators and political activists who wanted to know in detail how the charter would be implemented.

For instance, Phetchabun specialists asked the CDC about human rights, finding that rights would be restricted in some cases.

The CDC could only console them with the hope that fully fledged human rights could be forthcoming, as the National Reform and Steering Assembly is still active.

Specialists also inquired about educational opportunities, as many parents are concerned that their children will not enjoy free education at the secondary school level.

The CDC said the charter focused on supporting pre-school children so that they could grow up with a quality educational foundation, but the state would also draft policies for alternative education.

Specialist from the southern provinces asked whether local government officials would be elected or appointed and whether local agencies would be dissolved.

The CDC said the decision would depend on the desire of people in local administrative organisations.

Specialists with political interests raised concerns that the new election system would deprive voters of the right to pick MPs in circumstances where voters dislike their constituency MP but favour the MP’s political party.

The CDC said the new election system was designed to force political parties to field qualified candidates in an election. The proportional election system strikes a fair balance between popular and less popular political parties, the commission said.

Many also raised questions about voters being deprived of the right to vote for senators, since the National Council for Peace and Order could be empowered to select the first batch of senators. The CDC said the condition would only apply during the transitional period.

CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan asked specialists who favour a particular political party to put aside their political preferences and refrain from persuading voters either to approve or turn down the charter.

The specialists are believed to be facing an uphill battle if district and village leaders are charter opponents.

The CDC’s attempts to arrange for the specialist training have also run across activists and academics who oppose the charter.

However, the opponents did not seem to irritate CDC first vice chairman Supoj Kaimook, who yesterday said they are “too much of fuss” and “irk us as much as pebbles rolling in our shoes”.

“Their movements reflect their original bias against the charter,” he said.

However, the CDC still needs to monitor the charter situation closely, he said, adding that the commission had not attempted to employ specialists as canvassers.

“They will merely explain contents to people without guiding [them] to any exact decision,” he said.

Chatchai Na Chiangmai, another CDC member, agreed that the specialist campaign should proceed smoothly despite opposition movements.

Although deeming those movements “theoretically practicable”, Chatchai asked the public to think twice before trusting charter critics.

The charter was designed to solve national problems and move the country forward, “unlike critics from many sides that try to dump us without considering our situation and problems in the past at all”, he said.

The specialists will be tasked with educating an addition 8,780 district specialists.

Those local specialists will receive training after the Election Commission finishes publishing a simplified version of the charter, he said.

The CDC’s committee on public relations and surveys would discuss the preparation of training programmes with the Interior Ministry, said Chatchai, who chairs the committee.

The CDC would also conduct field visits and monitor training, he added.