The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) insists the new charter is designed to cater to the needs of all stakeholders across the political spectrum.
However, critics say the draft is out of touch with the people and will only serve the political elites.
The 23-member CDC yesterday completed final revisions to the draft charter following an eight-month process.
Recommendations from the public, the government, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), political parties and all stakeholders were taken into consideration, CDC chairman Borwornsak Uwanno said.
The document will be forwarded to the National Reform Council (NRC) for consideration today. The NRC will vote on whether to accept it on Sept 6.
Originally, the draft charter contained 315 sections, which have now been trimmed down to 285, as suggested by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha following criticism that the document was too long and several of is provisions were confusing and impractical.
Mr Borwornsak yesterday said it is natural that the draft charter would have both critics and supporters.
However, he urged its critics to look at the big picture, and said the benefits of the draft outweigh its shortcomings.
Mr Borwornsak defended a clause to establish a so-called “crisis panel”, formally known as the National Committee on Reform and Reconciliation Strategy, which has come under heavy criticism.
Panel members would include the army, navy, air force and police chiefs, with special powers to intervene in a political crisis by seizing both executive and legislative powers from the government and parliament.
Critics have slammed the proposed panel, saying it goes against the principles of democracy. There are also fears the proposed panel will persuade the public to reject it at a referendum.
Mr Borwornsak said under normal circumstances the crisis panel would have the power to ensure reforms are implemented properly after the next general election.
Without the panel, political parties that rise to power after the polls would be likely to focus mainly on their own policies while refusing to take up reforms initiated by the current government, Mr Borwornsak said.
He said a crisis panel could intervene if the government becomes embroiled in political unrest and cannot solve the problem itself. This panel would promote national unity, he said.
However, Siripan Noksuan, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, slammed the crisis panel proposal, saying that giving its members special powers to intervene in a crisis would create “a state within a state”.
Prapas Pintobtaeng, another Chulalongkorn University political science lecturer, echoed the view, saying if such a panel is allowed to be set up, it would be difficult for the public to scrutinise how it exercises its powers.
Mr Prapas said any political conflicts should be solved through a democratic process, not through undemocratic means.
Even though recent conflicts had been caused by people who failed to respect democratic rules, it is still wrong to stoop to using undemocratic means to deal with such elements, Mr Prapas said.
He also said that the draft charter is out of touch with the public. Several organisations proposed under the new charter are made up of appointed members and this would help those who are currently in power to prolong their stay at the top.
“The new charter is fraught with flaws. It will create a political elite and allow an unelected body to wield power over the public,” Mr Prapas said.
Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, a former deputy leader of the now defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, said she too was disappointed with the proposal to establish the crisis panel. The proposal demonstrates that the CDC had ignored the public interest, she said.
Mr Borwornsak, however, said while the draft charter aims to address the root causes of recent political conflicts, it also looks forward to the future.
“Reforms are essential for the future,” he said. “Improving the civil service, education and politics means a brighter future for our children,” he said.
CDC deputy chairman Sujit Boonbongkarn said the committee has tried its best to accommodate as many views as possible, while also working to determine whether suggested proposals could really be implemented.
Speaking after a meeting with the CDC, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam yesterday said the government had proposed about 100 changes to the draft charter, but the committee only agreed to include 70 of them in the draft.
Mr Wissanu said some of the government’s proposals were similar to those suggested by others, so the committee had to combine the similar ideas.
Overall, he said he was satisfied with the final draft.
If the NRC approves the draft charter during the vote on Sept 6, a public referendum on it is expected to be held in January.
The final version of the draft charter:
