The newly-appointed chief of the 2nd Army Region has made raising public awareness about the upcoming charter referendum one of his priorities.
Speaking after the hand-over ceremony in Nakhon Ratchasima, Lt Gen Wichai Chaejorhor said an urgent task is to educate voters in the Northeast about the draft charter and encourage them to take part in the planned referendum.
The draft charter is scheduled to be put up for referendum on Aug 7.
He said two other urgent missions were to ease the hardship of residents in drought-hit areas and work with authorities to step up security and road-safety measures during the Songkran festival.
Lt Gen Wichai succeeds Thawat Sookplang who was promoted to the rank of a full general and named an army specialist in the mid-year military reshuffle.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam declined to comment on Monday on a referendum question proposed by the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA).
Last week, a majority of the military-appointed body approved a referendum question about whether an appointed Senate should join the House of Representatives in selecting a prime minister during a five-year transitional period.
The proposed question will be reviewed by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) which has the final say.
Mr Wissanu said he had no idea what the intent of the proposed question was but insisted it was unlikely to pave the way for the selection of a "non-elected, outsider prime minister" on the three-candidate list, as some critics might suggest.
He said the three-candidate rule in the draft charter allows political parties to nominate three candidates for the premiership.
Asked what would happen if the proposed question contradicts the draft charter yet is approved at the referendum, he said the draft charter would have to be revised accordingly.
He also said he would meet the Election Commission on Monday to discuss referendum preparations as the NLA is expected to pass the draft referendum law later this week.
Democrat Party deputy leader Ongart Khlampaiboon Monday voiced opposition to the NRSA-backed referendum question, saying it contradicted the charter.
He was also critical of the attempt to empower the Senate to select the prime minister as senators would be handpicked by the military council.
"Such a question would cause confusion and is deemed to have a hidden agenda. If the NLA allows this question to be put up at the referendum, it will bring negative consequences. I am asking the NLA to consider long term national interests," he said.
In another development, Pheu Thai member Ruangkrai Leekitwattana Monday lodged a petition with the Office of the Ombudsman, asking the body to look into the drafting process of the national referendum bill.
He said the bill was endorsed by the cabinet and submitted to the NLA for scrutiny on March 15, even though the interim charter amendment allowing the drafting of the bill did not take effect until March 23. Therefore, he said, the process began too early.