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Thienchay Kiranandana, chairman
of the National Reform Council, in
on Sunday after council
members voted against a draft constitution.
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The vote was described by some commentators as political theater
and contributed to what appears to be growing cynicism in Thailand toward the military’s reign. The vote
in the National Reform Council was 135 against the constitution and 105 in favor.
The junta will now appoint another body to start the process of writing a new
constitution, a process that keeps the military in power well into 2016.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, one of the country’s most prominent
commentators, described the rejection of the constitution as “a sideshow in the
junta’s prolonged and indefinite rule.”
Sangsit Phiriyarangsan, a
member of the National Reform Council who voted to pass the constitution, said
he believed it was voted down because of a desire to postpone elections.
“They
are afraid that if an election takes place, it may lead to indefinite chaos,”
he said on Thai television. “They are in agreement that we should extend the
junta’s rule to govern the country.”
If the constitution had passed, it would have been put forward
in a national referendum in January.
The military has absolute power in Thailand Bangkok
Analysts said there were genuine disagreements and concerns
about the draft constitution, including a provision that would have allowed for
a “crisis” panel, including military members, to take control during times of
“conflict that leads to violence.”
Yet after appointing the constitutional drafting committee and
overseeing the writing of the charter, the military itself appeared to take a
leading role in scuttling it. More than two dozen military members of the
National Reform Council voted against it on Sunday.
Borwornsak Uwanno, the head of the constitutional drafting
committee, said after the vote that most military members of the council “had
to listen to their senior people,” suggesting the rejection of the constitution
was orchestrated.
Jatupon Prompan, the chairman
of a political movement known as the Red Shirts, said the constitutional
drafting process was a “no-lose” proposition for the military.
If it had been passed, the country would have been stuck with
what he described as a constitution that circumscribes democracy. Now with the
rejection, the military can retain power.
“Whether it passed or not, the junta would have won,” he said.
Ultimately, the rejection of
the constitution appeared to be a victory for the political movement led by
members of the Thai elite whose debilitating protests against the elected
government last year led to the military coup.
The leaders of the group, known as the People’s Democratic
Reform Committee, or P.D.R.C., argue that Thailand
Gen. Lertrat Ratanavanich, a member of the National Reform
Council, said many of those who voted against the constitution believed in
“reforms before elections,” the mantra of the P.D.R.C.
Postponing elections is “good for the country from their
perspective,” he said.
There is no organized resistance against military rule, which
comes at a time when the nation’s long-reigning king is ill.
Under the junta’s own rules, it must establish a new
constitutional drafting committee within 30 days. The committee will have 180
days to write a new constitution.
The new constitution, however,
will not be subject to a vote by the reform council and will instead be
submitted directly to a referendum.
Poypiti
Amatatham contributed reporting.
