Representatives from the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) will discuss the issue with the CDC on Friday, chief drafter Meechai Ruchupan said yesterday, after a 30-minute meeting with NLA vice president Surachai Liengboonlertchai.

The constitutional draft needs to be amended in regard to the selection of the prime minister after a majority of voters in the August 7 referendum approved the additional question posed by the NLA, which empowers the 250 selected senators |to vote with elected MPs to select the prime minister.

Currently, the draft stipulates that political parties will each submit a list of three candidates, and the prime minister would be selected from them. Parties eligible to submit a list of candidates would have to have at least 25 MPs, or 5 per cent of the 500 members in the House of Representatives.

In the current version, candidate lists could be set aside if the Lower House fails to marshal a majority vote in favour of a particular candidate.

MPs would then be able to vote to hold a joint meeting of parliament that included the selected Senate.

If two-thirds of the total Parliament then approves, an outsider or unelected candidate could be selected as the new prime minister.

Since the amendments must be made following the referendum result, questions have arisen whether party candidate lists will still be part of the process, and who will be responsible for nominating candidates in the case of a joint parliamentary vote.

Most members of the Upper House, whose terms will last five years, will be selected by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), according to the approved charter draft.

Meechai said yesterday drafters had stipulated that only elected MPs could propose candidates to be prime minister, but added that the CDC had to discuss the issue with the NLA before there could be a final decision.

“We’ll have to hear first what the NLA told people before the referendum. And the amendment should be made accordingly. If they promised that PM candidates would be nominated by the MPs, that’s great. We’ll stick to that,” the chief drafter said.

According to the interim charter of 2014, the CDC has 30 days to amend the draft. But Meechai said yesterday the process could take less time.

After the amendments are finished, the new draft will be forwarded to the Constitutional Court for approval within another 30-day period.

Meechai said the constitution would then be submitted to the prime minister to seek royal endorsement, if there were no complications.

If the Constitutional Court sends the charter back for adjustment, the process may still not take too long because the court would be provide precise instructions about revisions, he said.