BANGKOK — A draft of Thailand’s new constitution, written to reduce the power of major political parties and keep politicians in check, was submitted to an advisory council for review on Friday, nearly a year after the military took power from an elected government.
The military abolished an earlier constitution after the May 22 coup, and the government operates under a temporary charter. The junta later picked the drafters and a 250-member National Reform Council to help write a new constitution.
Constitution Drafting Committee spokesman Gen. Lertrat Ratanavanich said he hoped the new constitution will move the country past a decade of political conflicts.
“We have drafted this constitution as it is a reform one, in hopes of leading the country out of cycles of conflicts, disunity and undemocratic fights,” Lertrat said. “I’m confident this constitution will provide justice to every side [of the conflict], more than the previous charters.”
However, critics say the charter is aimed at preventing a political comeback by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in 2006 after being accused of corruption and disrespect for the king. Thailand has remained divided since, with Thaksin supporters and opponents struggling for power at the ballot box and in the streets, sometimes violently.
Lertrat said the charter will introduce a multiparty government system that will hold the executive branch accountable, but critics have expressed concerns that the system can weaken the government’s stability.