Voters on August 7 voted to accept the NLA’s proposal that the joint Parliament, including the appointed Senate, would “join in considering” a prime minister.

The highly charged debate erupted as authorities and politicians could not agree to the extent of the Senate’s role in the process.

The Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) on Wednesday decided that the Senate would only join the MPs in voting to select a PM, while elected MPs would nominate candidates for prime minister.

Sukhum Nualsakul, a political analyst and a former rector of Ramkhamhaeng University, said he agreed with the CDC’s decision. But he said an outsider prime minister could still emerge as the constitution draft still allows a candidate to be nominated who is not on the lists proposed by political parties.

“Also, though the Senate could not propose an outsider, some parties like that of Paiboon [Nititawan’s] would do that,” Sukhum said. “It might be a little less convenient, but it does not make an outsider PM impossible.”

Attasit Pankaew, from Thammasat University, also said the CDC’s decision matched the principle of how things should be. However, it does not make the political situation worry free after the next election as there are still chances that an outsider would lead the government.

“We’ll have to see how the polarisation goes after the election. If minor and medium-sized parties join with the ‘Senate party’, then chances are that we’ll have an outsider [PM],” Attasit said.

“The problem follows that it might be hard for him or her to work with the Lower House if he or she does not get along well with the influential parties.”

The legislators and the drafters meanwhile tried to downplay the apparent disagreement, saying there were no hard feelings, although the Senate would not be eligible to nominate PM candidates as proposed.

Somchai Sawangkarn, an NLA member who advocated the Senate’s role in PM nominations, said he respected the CDC’s decision to exclude the Senate from PM nominations.

He said that an NLA panel would prepare the necessary documents related to the additional question, in case the Constitutional Court requested explanations.

He dismissed criticism that the NLA was “demanding a yard after receiving an inch”.

The legislator said that the CDC’s decision was in line with the people’s decision in the referendum that the joint Parliament should vote to select a prime minister, but the CDC and the NLA had not agreed on the nomination process.

The CDC’s chairman, Meechai Ruchupan, said similarly that the charter amendment would not ignite conflicts between CDC and the NLA. The two bodies had different views on the issue, which would eventually be settled by the Constitutional Court, he said.

After the charter is enacted, Meechai said the CDC and the NLA would still have to work together on writing 10 more organic laws.

Though Prayut said he planned to visit all provinces regardless of how they had voted in the referendum, he publicly expressed his empathy for the province and the region known as Isaan, and tried to convince them that he had done his best as premier.

“I give importance to Roi Et and the Isaan region the most, no matter whether [Isaan voters] accepted or rejected [the charter draft] referendum,” said Prayut.

“I wholeheartedly trust that the people of Roi Et actually gave me support despite the results. I am never angry about that, and my visit today is as your servant, not a boss, as I’m a military officer serving the people and the country.

“I have not come to make you love me but to bring love to you. We have to work with together for a little while and I want you to have hopes and see the future.”

Prayut urged them to embrace the referendum as a starting point for democracy. He asked them not to be concerned about who would become the next prime minister, and said they should consider the performance of candidates rather than listen to what other people said.

“I wonder whether he or she would perform as much as I do,” he said.

Roi Et saw the region’s second highest percentage of “No” votes against the charter, and the highest against the additional question, 64 and 67.8 per cent respectively. Political observers believe the province’s referendum results were Prayut‘s motivation to visit the province.

During his one-day trip, Prayut presided over a meeting held at Roi Et Rajaphat University to follow up on the implementation of the policies involving local government agencies.

“Don’t be worried that I will cling to power. I have exercised my power to steer the nation forward, never for a second did I deploy it to garner popularity. Though [Roi Et people] don’t like me, I have already allocated more than a billion [baht] of the budget to projects proposed by the province.

“Please tell those who have not come here today that I have never hated them. But, it is because they don’t understand [the premier] and receive distorted information,” he said.

Before the meeting, he told university lecturers and students that true democracy is about co-existence of different opinions without using “guns” and violence. He also asked students to understand that he could not release those student activists, the junta dissenters who were charged and detained following the violation of laws and regulations.

Prayut also urged them to look forward and not get involved in conflicts. “Please be picky and choose what to listen to. Do not listen too much to matters of conflict and nonsense stuff.”

Prayut asked the people to believe and listen to him while the country is dealing with conflicts and said he is the one to steadily push the country forward.

The government delegation on the trip included Deputy PM General Tanasak Patimapragorn, Interior Minister General Anupong Paojinda and Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikalya.

At the meeting, Prayut also gave the green light to an economic plan for the area and urged local agencies to start implementing projects related to government policies within the 2017 fiscal year.

According to provincial governor Anusorn Kaewkangwan, the plan focuses on producing value-added jasmine rice grown in Thung Kula Rong Hai, promoting the province’s tourism, and developing Roi Et to be the transportation and investment centre in the central Isaan region.

Democrat Party politician Phumsan Seniwong na Ayutthaya said he appreciated Prayut‘s visit and said the area is still struggling with poverty and has the country’s widest gap between the well-off and the poor.

But Pheu Thai Party key figure Surapong Towichakchaikul decried the trip. He said Prayut should stay in the area overnight to see the real problems in the area. Prayut flew back to Bangkok in the evening.

The lawyer for the accused, Vinyat Chartmontri, said his clients were temporarily released on Bt200,000 bail each on condition that they would not leave the country without the court’s permission and would not cause chaos.

The eight accused ran a Facebook page called “We Love Gen Prayut” and were arrested in late April on charges of inciting unrest under the Criminal Code’s Section 116 and breaching the 2007 Computer Crimes Act.

The page was alleged to have been making fun of Prime Minister and National Council for Peace and Order head Prayut Chan-o-cha. It was closed following the arrests.

The accused had been detained for 12 days before they were released on bail of Bt200,000 each in May, when investigators sought a second detention.

Two of those arrested, Harit Mahaton and Natthika Worathaiyawich, were additionally charged with violation of lese majeste law based on their online chat messages. The pair were released on bail of Bt 500,000 each after a fifth 12-day detention.

According to Thai law, investigators can detain suspects for not more than 48 hours after they are taken into police custody. With court approval, the suspects can be further detained for up to seven rounds of 12 days each, but not more than 84 days in total.

In a related development, Dao Din student activist Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, known as Pai Dao Din, was yesterday temporarily released on bail of Bt10,000.

The Military Court in Khon Kaen accepted his lawyer’s release on bail request but rejected a request that the charge be dropped.

“Pai Dao Din” was charged of defying the National Council for Peace and Order’s ban on political gathering following his activity against the coup in May last year.

Lawyer Arnon Nampa said Jatupat was sick due to his hunger strike while being detained on a separate charge regarding breaching the referendum law in Chaiyaphum.

Meanwhile, investigators of Bang Na Police Station postponed the case of anti-junta student activists who allegedly violated the referendum act, due to incomplete evidence.

For Friend Association head Piyarat Chongthep faced four charges including breaching the Referendum Act and violating the criminal code by destroying a public document after tearing down a ballot on August 7.

Piyarat had denied all allegations and was released on Bt20,000 bail. Along with Piyarat, two others who accompanied him to the polling booth were separately charged with breaching the referendum law banning inciting unrest in polling stations. The pair were also released on Bt10,000 bail.