“He [the prime minister] can be whoever. I think there are several prominent figures in Thailand who are better than me. But if you can’t find any good persons, then you turn to me,” said PM Prayut at the weekly press briefing.

The possibility of Prayut continuing as PM after the general election has not been ruled out, although he has remained mum on the issue, declining to comment on several occasions.

The additional question, which passed the referendum last week, paved the way for a non-elected prime minister, outside the parties’ prepared PM nomination list, to be selected in the first joint parliamentary meeting. This has prompting speculation that Prayut will be one of the candidates.

The Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) is currently working to decide the extent to which the charter should be amended, while Prayut has tried to play down the issue.

“Won’t that violate what the charter [draft] says?” he asked rhetorically.

He reiterated that the draft stipulates at least two steps are to be followed. First, the MPs nominate PM candidates from the parties’ prepared lists, and select one of them as PM. If there is no resolution, the Senate may then be allowed to jointly invalidate the lists, paving the way for an MP, including anyone outside the lists, to be selected.

“I don’t know if it could be amended like that. Don’t ask me, you’d better ask the legislators,” Prayut said.

Prayut yesterday distanced himself from the proposal made by the former charter drafter Paiboon Nititawan, to create the People’s Reform Party which will be formed to back “the most suitable person” to take a premier post.

“I think he [Paiboon] has good intentions, but I’m not involved,” he said.

Prayut repeated that it was too early to anticipate the political outcome of the referendum decision.

He said, “This is not my time. Today I’m a junta leader. I’m a PM who came from ‘that’ process and you’re asking me about general politics. Can those apply to me?”

Meanwhile, National Legislative Assembly (NLA) president Surachai Liengboonlertchai said yesterday that the assembly would help guide the CDC to amend the charter draft in such a way that only provisional chapters are adjusted.

He said the NLA would meet today to discuss issues involved in amending the charter draft.

“We have to know what are the objectives of the question so that we can continue reforming the country,” he said. “We might come across some technical issues so we have to come up with contingency plans as alternatives. We have to prepare all this information for the CDC’s consideration.”

HRW said the United Nations and other international organisations should press Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to end arrests of critics and drop charges against them.

“The junta should immediately free Jatupat and other activists who peacefully protested the proposed constitution,” said Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director. “In the meantime, he should be under the supervision of doctors in case his health condition worsens, and diplomats should be allowed to visit him.”

Jatupat, 25, was arrested in Chaiyaphum province on August 6 for distributing publications criticising the junta-sponsored charter draft, which was approved in the national referendum the following day.

He is accused of breaching Article 61 of the referendum law, which prohibited the spread of messages about the charter draft and referendum which were false, rude, dramatic or intimidating. If found guilty, the activist could face up to 10 years in jail.

A prominent anti-junta activist based in Khon Kaen in the northeast, “Phai” , of the Dao Din group, refused to seek bail to show he opposed the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and regards its laws as |illegitimate.

He went on a hunger strike on the voting day to protest against his arrest, but his health has deteriorated in recent days. The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported yesterday that the activist had been suffering body pains, shivering, and a high fever after days of starvation.

He was transferred late on Monday from a cell to the nursing home in Phu Khiao District Prison, where he has been detained. The nurses had given him some pills and supplementary mineral drinks, the lawyers group reported.

Authorities rejected a request by the man’s mother’s to transfer him to a proper hospital.

His mother, Prim, said she was worried seeing Jatupat’s had a fever. She said he had suffered dengue fever before.

The prison chief, who asked not to be named, said a physician had checked on Jatupat yesterday and reported he was healthy. Though being on a hunger strike, the activist had had small snacks and some milk, he added.

Pro-democracy advocates, including activists, writers, and academics, took to Facebook, in an online campaign – “Chain Letters to Phai Dao Din” – to show their solidarity with the hunger striker. Each shared an experience of the first time they met Jatupat and what impressions they had of him.

Despite his poor health, Jatupat’s father Viboon said the activist insisted on continuing his hunger strike at least until this Friday, when his first round of 12-days in detention will end. Viboon said the lawyer would object to any request for further detention, saying his son had no intention to flee.

Last year, Jatupat and 13 other young activists, later known as New Democracy Movement, or NDM, were arrested and put in jail for nearly two weeks for criticising the junta. Their stand drew media attention both at home and abroad.

Pornpetch said he was not satisfied with the progress of the project, which is currently only 24 per cent complete.

He has instructed the Secretariat of the House of Representatives to expedite the transfer of two plots of land, one at Yothinburana School and a community near the Defence Ministry, to allow the work to proceed.

Officials in charge of land relocation said they would hand over the land by the end of October.

Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction originally pushed back the completion date by 278 days, which is due on December 15. It has 125 days left to complete the project, but as of August 12 only 24 per cent of the construction was complete.

The company has asked for 611 more days to complete the project.

But consultants for the government said it should be allowed an extension of only 421 days. Officials in charge plan to seek approval from House of Representatives |secretary-general Saithip Chao-valitthavhil for an extension of 421 days.

The national referendum on August 7 approved the NLA’s proposal that junta-selected legislators join elected MPs in choosing a prime minister for the first five years after the charter comes into effect.

The Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) is required by law to adjust the charter draft accordingly.

Jate said he and his colleagues would explain the literal meaning of the extra question to the CDC in the planned meeting. He vowed to never interpret it in a broader manner than what the NLA told voters before the referendum.

When the drafters were still working on the charter early this year, the National Council for Peace and Order recommended that the CDC allow it to select 250 senators and said they should also have power to lead a no-confidence motion against the government.

But the drafters only agreed that the junta could select the Senate. The right to launch a no-confidence motion was reserved solely for MPs.

The drafters have until October 10 to adjust the charter draft before seeking approval from the Constitutional Court.

Pattara Kampitak, a CDC member, said the drafters had yet to resolve which articles would be adjusted to serve the referendum result. But he said they could involve stipulations on the Senate’s responsibilities and the origin of the prime minister.

He said the CDC would listen to the NLA’s explanation first on Friday and then try to amend the charter draft in line with the original intention.