They are the draft bills on political parties and the Election Commission.

Meechai said deliberation on these first two laws would be kick-started this week by the NLA, as he had been advised to prepare himself to explain the draft contents to assembly members.

The Constitution Drafting Commission had drafted the laws following public hearings previously held by the CDC, he insisted.

However, some controversial points still exist as the CDC has drafted the bills following the spirit of the newly promulgated Constitution, he added.

For instance, the new charter encourages people to have a role in politics via their participation in political parties, he said, pointing out that the CDC has drafted the political party bill in a way that they would be invested in their favoured party from the outset by paying a membership fee, as well as taking part in selecting persons to contest in a general election – and even a would-be prime minister.

“If the NLA sees otherwise and changes the approaches [we have drafted] for the better, they must come up with justifiable reasons, and I will ‘wai’ them if they do,” said Meechai, suggesting that he would be respectful in the Thai style to the NLA.

In regard to the Election Commission (EC) draft bill, he said the CDC insisted on maintaining its position on election inspectors in replacement of provincial EC officials, as it considered that such personnel would be more effective in organising and regulating elections than provincial EC officials.

Meechai also sought to allay concerns over some of the present EC commissioners being removed from office and replaced due to the higher qualifications required by the new Constitution, with fears that this would lead to some disruption in the EC’s work, including preparations for the coming general election.

He said the new law required a selection committee to promptly choose new commissioners if required, so any such changes to the EC’s membership should not pose any problems in respect of the run-up to the national poll.