Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has assured the military regime will not interfere with a newly elected government amid growing concerns over its plans to extend its hold on power after elections.
Gen Prayut, also chief of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said yesterday "we" will not interfere in the affairs of a new government, but will "rely on mechanisms".
His comments came as critics raised concerns over proposals to establish temporary measures in the new constitution to maintain peace and order, and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon's suggestion to have appointed senators, who can be NCPO members, work with elected MPs during the post-election transition.
Proponents believe these ideas will benefit Thailand by preventing political conflict.
They also say appointed senators can help ensure the country follows national reform plans during the first five years of a new government.
The proposals now being vetted by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), which will decide whether to include them in a new charter, have raised concerns that Thailand will not return completely to a democracy.
Gen Prayut did not directly address these fears, saying only that the NCPO would not interfere.
He said he only asks that the new government follow national reform plans during its first five years. "Politicians cannot only follow their party policies," he stressed.
The new charter will be the main tool helping the new government achieve these goals, he said.
However, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006, has accused the military regime of trying to push through a new constitution designed to limit democracy, reports the Associated Press, citing Thaksin's comments made during an event at the World Policy Institute.
Regarding the CDC's controversial proposal for an unelected prime minister, Thaksin said any election held under the new constitution will deny the will of a majority of Thais.
"That is backward democracy," he said. "Under democracy, you have to give the power to the people."
He said Thais are a patient people, and are willing to believe the military when it says it is in power to "reconcile the differences of the people in the country".
"But so far, one-and-a-half years [later], they have nothing to show for themselves on reconciliation," he said, adding that military rulers are "only trying to use the law to benefit their own politics".
Thaksin, who was convicted of corruption in absentia in 2008, and sentenced to two years in jail, lives in self-exile.
CDC spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni yesterday denied Thaksin's claim that the new charter weakens public participation.
For example, he said, Thais can cast ballots to elect House members and petition independent bodies to keep state agencies in check.
There have been no issues in the new charter that contradict public opinion, he said, citing past polls.
Mr Norachit said he believes countries will base their judgement of Thailand on facts, not Thaksin's comments.