CDC denies asset proposal

The Constitution Drafting Committee chairman yesterday said they were not considering a new charter proposal requiring relatives of political office holders to declare their assets.

Meechai Ruichupan said the CDC would not take things to such extremes as such a procedure would involve a lot of work.

“Examining assets of all the relatives is not fun, but rather a heavy task,” he said.

However, Mr Meechai said that under the new charter, independent bodies would be given more power to keep politicians in check, with moral codes to be put in place to ensure “clean politics”.

CDC spokesman Udom Rat-amarit earlier said the CDC might consider a tougher requirement for relatives of political office holders, including the prime minister and cabinet ministers, to declare their assets. In previous charters, only their spouses and children were required to do so, Mr Udom said.

Thammasat University vice-rector Prinya Tevanaruemitrkul yesterday said he expected the CDC to come up with a new draft charter that is acceptable to the public and pass a referendum. He said this would return democracy to the country within the so-called “6-4-6-4” roadmap initiated by the National Council for Peace and Order.

Mr Prinya also urged the NCPO to amend a provision under the current interim charter which requires the new draft charter to receive the support of the majority of an entire eligible electorate to pass a referendum. Instead, the interim charter should be amended to allow the new draft charter to pass a referendum if it receives the support of a majority who vote.

“I have no idea why the interim charter provision is written to make it harder for the new draft charter to pass the referendum,” Mr Prinya said.

The NCPO’s roadmap pushes a general election out to mid-2017, after which a new government is expected to take shape.