Thailand unveils charter to curb premier's power
Saturday, 7 July 2007
BANGKOK, July 6 (AFP): A military-appointed council was set Friday to approve its final draft of a new constitution that is meant to guide Thailand back to democracy after last year's coup.
The document will go to a referendum next month but campaigning is already under way to reject it, a result which analysts fear could prompt fresh turmoil in the troubled country.
Once the Constitution Drafting Assembly approves the document, some 19 million copies of the 150-page charter will be distributed to every household in the country ahead of the referendum.
The military, which ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawata last September, is pressing hard for voters to approve the charter that they say will rein in the powers of future premiers.
Shortly after the generals seized power, they tossed out Thailand's 1997 constitution, which had been widely hailed as the most democratic the kingdom had ever known.
But the military accused Thaksin of exploiting loopholes in the charter to consolidate power in the prime minister's office and to enrich his business empire.
They say the new charter will improve the system of checks and balances, limiting the prime minister to eight years in office and making it easier to launch impeachment proceedings.
It would also bar the premier from major holdings in private firms, particularly media companies, and expand financial disclosure rules to cover the entire cabinet and the parliament.
Parliament would be slightly smaller, and the Senate would have nearly half of its members appointed by a special panel of judges, election officials, and civic groups.
"The constitution is really anti-political parties and anti- politician," said political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak.
"It's a retribution for the Thaksin years," he added.
Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party grew into a political powerhouse in part by swallowing up smaller parties. The new charter would prevent that in the future by making it more difficult for parties to merge.
Diverse groups are already campaigning to defeat the constitution. Buddhist monks are against the charter because it does not enshrine their faith as a national religion.
Democracy advocates oppose it because the document was written by a military-appointed panel without enough public input -- unlike the 1997 constitution that resulted from years of public consultations.
And Thaksin's allies are opposing the charter to show that they remain a political force at the ballot box, even though a court has officially disbanded their party and Thaksin is in exile.
The document will go to a referendum next month but campaigning is already under way to reject it, a result which analysts fear could prompt fresh turmoil in the troubled country.
Once the Constitution Drafting Assembly approves the document, some 19 million copies of the 150-page charter will be distributed to every household in the country ahead of the referendum.
The military, which ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawata last September, is pressing hard for voters to approve the charter that they say will rein in the powers of future premiers.
Shortly after the generals seized power, they tossed out Thailand's 1997 constitution, which had been widely hailed as the most democratic the kingdom had ever known.
But the military accused Thaksin of exploiting loopholes in the charter to consolidate power in the prime minister's office and to enrich his business empire.
They say the new charter will improve the system of checks and balances, limiting the prime minister to eight years in office and making it easier to launch impeachment proceedings.
It would also bar the premier from major holdings in private firms, particularly media companies, and expand financial disclosure rules to cover the entire cabinet and the parliament.
Parliament would be slightly smaller, and the Senate would have nearly half of its members appointed by a special panel of judges, election officials, and civic groups.
"The constitution is really anti-political parties and anti- politician," said political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak.
"It's a retribution for the Thaksin years," he added.
Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party grew into a political powerhouse in part by swallowing up smaller parties. The new charter would prevent that in the future by making it more difficult for parties to merge.
Diverse groups are already campaigning to defeat the constitution. Buddhist monks are against the charter because it does not enshrine their faith as a national religion.
Democracy advocates oppose it because the document was written by a military-appointed panel without enough public input -- unlike the 1997 constitution that resulted from years of public consultations.
And Thaksin's allies are opposing the charter to show that they remain a political force at the ballot box, even though a court has officially disbanded their party and Thaksin is in exile.