“We’re experienced in democracy so I don’t think we need a five-year transitional period to run the country,” Prinya told a seminar at the university. “The junta should follow its road map to democracy and not try to exploit the draft.”

Prinya cited the 1991 charter, which allowed junta-appointed senators and an outsider prime minister, despite the junta’s promise at the time to hold elections within six months. The charter caused a massive uproar that eventually led to a bloody military crackdown in the notorious 1992 Black May incident, he said.

The 1991 charter was also written by Meechai Ruchupan, who now chairs the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), Prinya said.

The vice rector is also a member of a foundation dedicated to commemorate Black May victims.

The CDC should only use democratic mechanisms to combat corruption, he added, contrary to the junta’s use of Article 44, which gives the junta sweeping emergency powers, to address the issue.

Pheu Thai Party politician Chaturon Chaisang said he also believed that the current charter draft’s lack of flexibility allowing for future amendments would result in it eventually being abolished and give rise to another coup in the future.

The draft faces serious objections, Chaturon said, because it would not allow civil society to participate in important decisions. One example is the Constitutional Court’s authority to make decisions regarding political crises.

Selected senators, according to one proposal for the draft, could also overwhelm the elected government’s authority, the former education minister said.

One recent proposal included the possible involvement of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) members in a future Senate, he said.

In a related development, Meechai said he had amended elements of the charter in line with security-related documents submitted by the office of Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan.

He said he had not held private talks with Prawit yet.

The CDC is now amending the charter draft’s section on independent organisations. Most of the previous version’s vital elements have been left intact, Meechai said, although there have been amendments addressing the controversial authority of the Constitutional Court. The CDC has not yet considered the selection or election of MPs and the Senate, he added.

Pajun, previously a close aide to Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda, was accompanied by his lawyer Nititorn Lamlua to meet officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division.

He had been summoned for questioning and acknowledging the charge in relation to a Line chat message reportedly claiming that coveted police posts had been “put up for sale” by a retired Army general.

Pajun asked the investigative team to wait for a ruling from the Ombudsman’s Office, whom he had petitioned on Monday for fairness. The investigators promised to reconsider the allegations and not press charges against him.

Nititorn, meanwhile, said the allegations were incorrect and unclear, adding that the alleged message did not contain the words “general”, “police positions for sale” or “Royal Thai Police”.

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National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda had threatened to file a defamation suit against Pajun following this message, saying it was groundless and would stain the image of the police force.

In response to the accusation, Pajun said he never wrote the original message and that he had just shared it to cross-check with police officers in his chat group. A group of supporters offered Pajun moral support when he arrived to meet the police.

 

ACADEMICS yesterday voiced opposition to the junta’s perceived move to cling on to power via selected senators, even as Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said he saw nothing wrong in members of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) getting appointed as senators.

In a democratic system, senators have to get their mandate from the people if they are to have the checks-and-balances power, the academics pointed out.

The comments came after key figures in the government and the ruling NCPO, notably Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha and his deputy Prawit, called for selected senators to undertake reforms and national strategy plans during the five-year transitory period.

The draft constitution proposes indirect election of senators by representatives from 20 occupational groups.

Many National Legislative Assembly (NLA) members are pushing for selected senators, though critics allege that some of them want to be among those appointed to the next Senate. Some NLA members suggest that if the drafters remain firm in their original clauses regarding senators, the referendum on the charter draft should accommodate a question on selected senators.

Prawit said yesterday that it was his personal view to call for selected senators during the five-year transition period after the next general election and that he would have no problem if the CDC did not heed his proposal.

When asked if NCPO members would become selected senators, he responded: “Maybe. Why? Is there anything wrong with it? I see nothing wrong.” However, some academics said it was inappropriate for the NCPO to “cling to power” in the form of selected senators.

Political analyst Sukhum Nuansakul, formerly a rector of Ramkhamhaeng University, views this as the NCPO’s attempt to hang on to power.

“They are not letting go. It’s as simple as that. They may be confident because they have seemingly been successful in keeping peace and order,” he said. “But I disagree if they want to stay on in power by sitting on the Upper House because it is just an obsolete idea. I think many people disagree too. [Parliament] must be connected with the people.”

He added: “If they think an elected Senate would be the same as the House of Representatives, then why not just remove it from the system. Many countries still thrive with a single-house system.”

Yuttaporn Issarachai, a political scientist from Sukhothai Thamma-thirat Open University, said yesterday that senators since the 1997 constitution had a wide range of authority, including the Senate’s power to “check and scrutinise” the assembly. It did not act only as a deliberative house as before. The scholar said it should be connected with the people.

“If the Senate is given the authority to check or scrutinise other branches of power, it should be linked with people who in a democratic society have the rights and liberties to take part in the decision-making process,” Yuttaporn explained.

He declined to say whether it would be appropriate to have NCPO members be part of the Upper House. The academic, however, did say that if the junta was looking at the matter from an administrative perspective, having a selected Senate could be effective but it might not be the best answer for a democracy.

Likhit Dhiravegin, a senior political scientist and former lecturer at Thammasat University, reacted to the junta’s move by asking: “What does this [selected Senate] mean after all this time they have been saying they will not retain the power?

“It is okay to continue being in power for a long time. But this has to be done via electoral means. Look at the presidents of the United States, they usually stay for eight years. But they are elected by the people,” the scholar said.

“However, retaining power via self-written rules and regulations is a different story. Where are the people under this system? If they want to remain in their position, they simply have to run in the election. It is that simple,” Likhit added.

He noted that the selected Senate was problematic at many levels, questioning who the selecting committee would be and who would be picked.

Echoing Yuttaporn’s remark, the senior political scientist said senators were not only deliberative but also authorised to determine the fate of the elected ones.

However, the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) had many times assured that the Upper House would not have the authority to impeach politicians. The House members could still select commissioners of independent organisations that subtly had such authority.

Meanwhile, CDC chief Meechai Ruchupan said yesterday that his panel had not received any official documents from the NCPO or the government concerning the proposal for a selected Senate. Hence, they had not yet considered the matter.

Sirawith, meanwhile, has vowed to lodge a complaint with the Administrative Court against officials who intercepted him and his fellow students on their way to the park.

He and some five other students went to the Military Court yesterday only to hear the prosecutor’s decision had been postponed to April 25 after Sirawith’s team of lawyers requested that two new witnesses be included in the evidence examination process.

Sirawith and his fellow students were summoned by police after the trip, while five other students were charged with violating the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s ban on gatherings of five or more people. However, Sirawith and the rest of the activists say they reject the NCPO’s authority and have vowed not to acknowledge the charge.

Weeranan Huadsri, Sirawith’s defence lawyer, said there was a good chance that the prosecutor would examine the two witnesses, adding that their testimony would add legal interpretation.

“These witnesses are academics who can provide legal interpretation and views, but whether the testimony will be considered will depend on the prosecutor,” Weeranan said.

He added that it was likely that the prosecutor would file a case against the student activists.

The lawyer also disclosed that Sirawith was standing firm in refusing to acknowledge NCPO’s authority, saying it does not have the right to seize power and rule the country. The young activist has vowed to fight the case if he is charged.

When Unctad Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi called on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at Prayut thanked him for taking part in a conference of experts from the Group of 77 developing countries being held in Thailand, Werachon Sukondhapati-bhak, deputy government spokes-man, told reporters.

The Group of 77 conference involved cooperation among developing countries.

The prime minister praised Unctad’s role in promoting international trade and development linkages, as well as helping developing countries assimilate into the global economy.

“This is a good opportunity for Thailand, as the Group of 77 chair this year, to work closely with Unctad and the grouping to achieve the sustainable development goals,” Prayut was quoted as telling the Unctad chief.

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Prayut also said Thailand was ready to share with Unctad its experience in applying the sufficiency economy philosophy initiated by His Majesty the King.

The visiting Unctad chief said a recent tour by participants of the Group of 77 conference to a royal development project at Khao Hin Son in Chachoengsao helped him better understand the sufficiency economy philosophy.

Prayut said international cooperation should start with domestic growth, with the focus on a partnership between the people and the public and private sectors, including civil society.

“This way, there will be genuine and sustainable advantages for all parties.

“In this kind of growth, every-|one will grow together and nobody will be left behind,” he was quoted as saying.

 

PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday remained firm on his call for selected senators during a five-year transitional period, although he said they should not be authorised to vote for a prime minister.

Suggesting that MPs should be exclusively authorised to pick the prime minister, as has been typical in the past, Prayut said the new charter draft should empower senators to “take care of the charter so it won’t be stripped out by politicians”.

A selected Senate should also promote good governance, national strategies and the junta-led reform agenda, he said.

Prayut said elected senators had led to problems due to a lack of good governance in the past, adding that the Senate could be elected when voters were ready.

“I possess the power now but I have no intention of holding this power for the rest of my life. I want this power to come from the people directly. If you can choose MPs and senators well and are ready for that, I will give back the power. Are you sure we will not go back to the same old point?” Prayut asked, referring to the political conflict before the May 2014 coup.

“In my opinion, senators should not be involved with selecting a prime minister,” he added.

Prayut said selected senators were necessary to make sure the new constitution would not be amended “incoherently” by an elected government. Also, selected senators would have the duty of ensuring that the new government implemented national strategies and followed good governance guidelines, he added.

The premier, however, did not reveal how senators would promote reforms and national strategies in practice. A source close to the prime minister said Prayuthad only provided a conceptual outline of the idea while relying on the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) to consider and strengthen the concept.

At a meeting Monday of four of the “five rivers” of power – the Cabinet, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA), with the CDC being absent –Prayut did not comment on the Senate issue.

“The only thing I am concerned with is how to keep the country from returning to chaos again,” the prime minister said.

“And it should be questioned if the old pattern was ever able to keep things in order,” he added, apparently referring to elected senators as part of the “old pattern”.

Prayut‘s ambiguity contrasted, however, with the approach of Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who on Friday revealed a clear advocacy for a selected Senate to “help drive national reform agendas”.

Even given Prayut‘s remark that the Senate should not have authority to select future premiers, chief drafter Meechai Ruchupan has remained quiet on the matter, saying only that the CDC had not had further discussions about the Senate yesterday. Another source at the CDC said the commission stood firm on its original plan of indirectly electing senators as was stipulated in its initial charter draft.

The CDC’s draft constitution calls for senators to be elected by representatives of 20 occupations.

Meanwhile, a source at the NRSA expressed confidence yesterday that the CDC would eventually agree with the government’s call for selected senators. The source said he did not think Meechai would have a problem with the idea, having himself been an appointed senator earlier in his career.

He said the current regime wanted to balance the power of elected MPs in the next Parliament.

The source concurred that selected senators would not have the authority to select a prime minister, saying such a power would be too extreme given the current situation while key figures such as Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam had already opposed the idea.

He added that the Senate would be crucial in picking the commissioners of independent organisations including Constitutional Court Judges, whose influential role in Thai politics would be strengthened by the charter draft.

Selected senators would also play an important role in carrying out the 20-year national strategy plan being formulated by the current regime, the NRSA source said, adding however that in reality it would be difficult to implement the national strategies in a rapidly changing world, and difficult to resist public opinion in the case of controversy.

Also yesterday, another source familiar with the constitution drafting process said Meechai had opted not to take part in Monday’s meeting of the core “five rivers” bodies because he had not wanted to be asked about the issue of selected senators.

Prawit yesterday also defended Meechai’s absence from the meeting on Monday, saying it was nothing unusual as the CDC is preoccupied with finishing the charter draft. The deputy prime minister also insisted that the CDC still works well with the rest of the “five rivers”.

“The absence could be good. If the CDC came, people might say that they came to receive orders from the NCPO,” he said.

Future meetings of the “five rivers” would be possible if needed, including before the national referendum, he said.

THE CONSTITUTION Drafting Commission (CDC) has decided where power will lie in critical legal situations when no clauses in the constitution are applicable.

It will no longer reside with the Constitutional Court alone. Instead it will be up to the court, the heads of the three power branches and independent organisations to decide jointly which measures or rules should apply, the CDC has resolved.

Also, the drafters have decided to transfer the Constitutional Court’s power over the “ethical standards” of politicians and civil servants to the Supreme Court.

On the ambiguous and embattled Article 7 stipulating that when no articles in the constitution are applicable, the traditional rules should be followed, the CDC had previously decided to empower the Constitutional Court to have the final say.

In response to strong criticism that the court was being given excessive power under the new charter draft, the CDC reconsidered the matter, drafter Udom Rathamarit said yesterday.

However, whether a situation would be deemed “critical” remains under the judgement of the Constitutional Court, which would also be the initiator of the joint meeting to resolve the issue, the CDC spokesman said.

Asked whether that would be fair, as the Court was still the only entity to call for the meeting, Udom explained that the case had first to be lodged by other branches, and independent organisations. So the practice is perfectly balanced, he said.

Single seven-year terms for judges

The panel also resolved that the Constitutional Court’s judges would serve one seven-year term with no extension. The previous resolution was that they would serve a nine-year term.

The Constitutional Court judges should not be under 45 or above 68 years old on the day they receive royal endorsement. This is changed from the old stipulation that the judges could be 75 years old.

In addition, the authority to give verdicts over politicians’ and civil servants’ ethical standards has been shifted to the Supreme Court from the Constitutional Court in order to ward off criticism the latter is being excessively empowered under the new constitution.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) would still be responsible for initiating standard ethical cases among political bodies, governmental agencies, and independent organisations before forwarding them to the Supreme Court.

As for when the NACC itself faced ethics-related allegations, the Supreme Court should set up a special panel to investigate each such case, Udom explained.

Udom said drafters had also reconsidered the Supreme Court’s division for matters involving political office holders. Under the new constitution draft, defendants could appeal not only against matters of law, but also facts within 30 days after a verdict was given.

The panel would comprise from five to nine judges.