Members of the National Reform Council (NRC) yesterday spoke out against a draft charter provision which they say will benefit political groups at the expense of political parties.
They said the charter will allow political groups to participate more in politics, saying this would undermine political parties and lead to conflict.
Under the draft charter, poll candidates would not necessarily belong to political parties because political groups would be allowed to register and list candidates to run in elections.
A total of 103 NRC members yesterday registered to debate charter provisions on the parliamentary and voting systems.
Several also slammed proposals for indirect elections of the Senate and the mixed-member proportional representation system (MMP) adopted by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC).
Former House Speaker and Buri Ram veteran politician Chai Chidchob said street protests mounted by political groups had caused political strife and made life difficult for the public over the past decade.
He said several political groups are undisciplined, but constitution drafters are still allowing them to field political candidates in elections.
"Large political groups such as the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) and the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) will again cause trouble that will bring the country to its knees. And another coup will ensue,'' Mr Chai said.
He also criticised the new MMP voting system, in which the overall number of constituency MPs will be cut from 375 to about 250 and every province will have the number of constituency MPs reduced.
The reduced numbers of constituency MPs would mean local people would have less representation than before, Mr Chai said.
Under the MMP system, the number of MPs is set at 450 to 470. Of these, 250 will come from the constituency system and the rest will come from the party-list system, which accounts for another 200 to 220 MPs, depending on the number of votes cast on election day.
NRC member Sutham Limsuwankasem, a former deputy secretary-general to former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, said the new charter favours political groups and aims to weaken political parties.
Under the new charter, more political groups are expected to be set up, while new political parties are unlikely to emerge, Mr Sutham said, adding that political groups are much easier to set up than political parties.
NRC member Udom Fuengfung likened political groups to a virus trying to enter the political system.
CDC spokesman Lertrat Rattanawanich defended the charter provision to allow political groups to field electoral candidates.
He said political groups as defined by the draft charter are different from those involved in past demonstrations. The draft charter requires that political groups must be legally registered if they want to field candidates for election, Gen Lertrat said.
Political groups will be kept to the same rules on good governance that will be applied to political parties under Section 76 of the draft charter, he added. The regulations cover the declaration of donations given to political parties and measures to ensure the independence of MPs, Gen Lertrat said.
CDC chairman Borwornsak Uwanno also defended the new open-list voting system, which will allow voters to rank candidates themselves, saying it empowers voters.