Abhisit said as the party leader, he would tomorrow officially give his stance about the charter (Wed) and it would not be the party’s stance because it was not allowed to hold a meeting to discuss politics.

He said he wanted politicians to focus on the country’s future and not to argue about politics. He said the country’s problems lie in poverty and an education system in serious need of reform.

He said reform of education as stated in the charter draft has both advances and drawbacks. For instance, the draft focuses the significance of primary school education but in terms of providing free education and welfare for the less privileged, the draft seemed like a step back.

“But we have only discussed reform ideas without coming up with any concrete measures,” he said.

“Education reform cannot be achieved if the state is solely responsible for the task. The local and private sectors are needed to give a hand to succeed in reforming the country’s education. The problem is the charter draft does not support distribution of power or allow any venues for the private sector to join forces in education reform.”

Abhisit said the draft was also weak on human rights and liberties. “To tackle poverty, we must start from strong human rights and liberties. If the public is not allowed to participate or access information, other issues become difficult,” he said.

“The charter draft vows to crack down on seven generations of corrupt officials, but if the public cannot get information on corruption projects or details on who are involved in corruption, it is difficult to enforce the law. Our current laws have strong punishment but we are weak on enforcement,” he said.

Key Democrats had earlier shown their standpoints on the draft. Most of them opposed the draft written by the Constitution Drafting Commission led by Meechai Ruchupan.

Abhisit said party members had the right to express their view on the draft.

He said people must agree what the country’s problems are in order to find the right solutions. “If we have different questions for the country then it is difficult to come up with the right answers.” Future Innovative Thailand Institute (FIT) president Dr Surin Pitsuwan hoped that after the country has a new charter and an election is held, changes will be allowed that improve the country.

He was speaking at the seminar titled “FIT Education: Truth and Dare” attended by some key politicians.

“We must be open to change to build the country’s future in order to survive in the globalisation era. If we fail to build the foundation for our future, our children will blame us for not preparing for the country’s future,” he said.

Meanwhile Country Protecting Citizens’ Network led by Lt Col Kamolpan Cheewapansri submitted a request with the Election Commission to join the debate on the charter draft.

She said her network wanted to discuss Article 178 of the draft, which stipulated that if Parliament failed to consider the bill on territory issues within 60 days, it would be regarded that Parliament approved of the bill.

“This Article may cause damage to the country because we – Thailand and Cambodia – have border disputes and related agreements,” she said.

She also opposed Article 54, which stipulates that free education is provided till students complete lower secondary school, whereas presently it is provided till upper secondary school.

She also had issues with Article 136, which stipulates that if the Senate fails to scrutinise a bill within 30 days, it is regarded that the Senate backs the bill.

She said Article 146 also stipulated that if His Majesty the King has not endorsed any legislation within 90 days, it is regarded that the law can be enforced.

She also opposed Article 279, which stipulates that any action by the National Council for Peace and Order is not an offence. She said her group would vote to reject the draft, as she believed Article 178 alone would be detrimental to the country.