Meechai expected to reveal stance on new charter drafting team today

Prayut was reluctant to make a call on the matter and opted to first consult the National Council for Peace and Order today, Suriyasai observed.

It is expected Meechai will give his answer on whether he will accept the post today.

Meechai’s condition for taking the job might involves changes to holding a referendum on the new charter, said Suriyasai, deputy dean of Rangsit University's Social Innovation College and the director of the Thailand Reform Institute.

It was previously reported the Meechai did not want to hold a referendum,

Suriyasai said a referendum should be held because the new constitution’s legitimacy relied not only on its content and origin but also on the people’s participation at the last stage.

He also noted there were both pros and cons to Meechai – who sits on the junta’s National Council for Peace and Order – landing the Constitution Drafting Committee chairmanship.

“If Meechai Ruchupan accepts the chair position of the CDC, there could be scepticism about the committee’s independence,” he said. 

“[People might question] if he is only the NCPO’s legal handyman because Meechai also has a post in the NCPO,” he said.

Suriyasai said the junta would have to prepare an explanation if that happened because it would be a valid point.

The positive side of having Meechai sitting as the committee’s chair would be that the junta and the charter drafters could work very closely and as such avoid the problems the now-defunct first CDC had, he said.

Meanwhile, Anusorn Eamsa-ad, the Pheu Thai Party’s acting deputy spokesman, said people would now be keeping an eye on the content of the charter rather than who was going to sit on the drafting panel because the draft would turn out the way the powers that be planned

So it did not matter if Meechai accepted the position or not, he said.

Anusorn said the most difficult part about 

people sitting on the new charter drafting body was having to sacrifice their reputation because they have seen what happened to the previous charter drafter head Bowornsak Uwanno, whose draft was 

rejected last month .

He reiterated that people want to see a democratic charter with no hidden agenda or anything attached that would allow the powers that be to stay in power further.