Chat Thai leader Banharn Silapa-archa said yesterday constitutional reform would not be a drawn-out process because only a few "errors" needed to be fixed, such as the 90-day rule.

"The amendments should not take longer than one year before the House is dissolved to pave the way for an election," Banharn told the party's annual convention at the Miracle Grand Hotel in Bangkok.

"All MPs should be free from the rule of 'slavery'," he added.

A House candidate must by law belong to a political party for at least 90 days before an election. However, a general election must be held within 60 days of a House dissolution.

Any MP who resigns from his party will be prevented from standing again if the prime minister dissolves the House within a month of his defection, even if

he immediately joins another party.

Thai Rak Thai factions have dared not rise against party leader Thaksin Shinawatra although they were sometimes unhappy with him.

Thaksin has also been "untouched" by the opposition in his five years as prime minister although scandals and conflicts of interest had clouded his administration.

To make it easier to grill the prime minister, Banharn proposed the provision requiring the support of 200 MPs to censure the premier should be changed to 100 MPs, the minimum for censuring a minister.

To make it easier for small parties to get seats in the House, the minimum votes for parties should be reduced to 2 per cent, he said.

The election law now requires a party to collect at least 5 per cent of the votes for parties to claim seats for its party-list candidates.

In last year' poll, Mahachon Party won more than 1.3 million votes nationwide - just under 5 per cent as the turnout was 31 million. So it failed to book a

single one of the 100 party-list seats.

Observers sympathised with Mahachon as its votes were enough to get two constituency representatives into the House.