The future of Thailand's democracy lies in the hands of 35 charter writers tasked with reshaping the political landscape.

The new charter - expected to be completed next year - is required to rectify flaws detected in the 1997 Constitution. At issue is how to design the political mechanisms to suit the people's aspirations and sustain the democratic government with the King as Head of State.

The downfall of the Thaksin Shinawatra administration was the latest lesson for a nation seeking to adopt a charter that embodies lofty ideals - but it eventually proved impractical for Thai politics.

In 74 years of democratic rule, the country has written and torn up 16 charters. Each was billed as the "ultimate" improvement on models perfected by England, the United States, France and Germany.

Time and again the best democratic features evolved from abroad could not be transplanted to the local scene.

Writers of the previous charter devoted considerable attention to incorporating provisions ensuring political stability, transparency, basic rights and liberties and a system of checks and balances.

But in less than six short years, the Thaksin regime managed to subdue the checks and balances - once believed to be foolproof - and steer the government for self-serving benefit.

The interim government is now obliged to spend at least a year trying to uproot a disturbing legacy of abuse and corruption.

The incoming 35 charter writers must come up with solutions to safeguard democracy from being subverted by a tyrant disguised as an elected leader.

The system of checks and balances should be put above and beyond partisan interference. "Independent" organisations are supposed to act as political referees. But they cannot function in a proper way if powers-that-be are allowed to pick and sway office holders.

An elected government is duty-bound to be responsive to the people's needs. But this should not be confused with using populist policies to seduce the people and bribe local governments via budgetary allocations to spread the tentacles of power.

Heeding past mistakes, the new charter is likely to factor in domestic political traditions and incorporate many home-grown democratic features instead of blindly copying foreign political models.

The 2006 Interim Constitution has devoted 15 of 39 articles to outlining an elaborate plan to write the new charter.

For now power has been vested in the military, with the Council for National Security (CNS) given the capacity to nominate and seek the royal appointment of 2,000 members for a national confederation.

The 2,000 members are expected to be made up of senior bureaucrats, technocrats and academics because they are required to have no partisan affiliations within two years before taking office.

Within seven days after convening their first meeting, they must conduct a peer vote to nominate 200 candidates for the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA). The CNS will then pick 100 of the 200 candidates for royal appointment. If the peer vote fails to work, the CNS has the power to directly choose 100 candidates from the 2,000 members.

The CDA has the job of naming 25 experts from among themselves - or outsiders - and the CNS will name 10 other experts. These 35 experts will be responsible for drafting the new charter.

The drafting process must be completed within 180 days from the CDA's first meeting.

The charter writers are obliged to circulate the draft and explain its differences from the 1997 Constitution.

The draft charter will be vetted by the National Assembly, the CDA, the Cabinet, the CNS, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court and independent organisations created by organic laws and universities.

Following the vetting process, the CDA must vote either to accept or reject the draft. The draft will then be subject to a referendum - within 15 days or no later than 30 days.

The drafting of relevant organic laws must be completed within 45 days and the National Assembly is obliged to ensure the passage of each organic law within 45 days.

Should the draft fail to materialise or pass the referendum, the CNS and the Cabinet must convene a joint meeting to select and amend a past constitution for enactment.

Formal debate about drafting the new charter will be granted immunity from prosecution.

The next general election is due to take place once the deadline for writing a new charter has expired.

Avudh Panananda

The Nation