Although the CNS denies any bloc voting, the council selected all 242 National Legislative Assembly (NLA) members - mostly from military agencies. People will not trust the CNS if Meechai gets the post, Suriyasai said.

Meechai has long experience in legal affairs. He served the Prem Tinsulanonda government in the 1980s and also the Thaksin government, with the ousted prime minister once assigning him to be head of legal reform. He was also a key person in the 2006 Interim Constitution-drafting process under the ruling council that toppled Thaksin.

Meechai should withdraw, Suriyasai said. If he insists on exercising his political right to run for the post, he is merely using the same reasoning as ousted prime minister Thaksin, who refused to withdraw from the April election and left the country divided between his supporters and opponents.

"It is Meechai's right to propose himself for the post of NLA speaker, but politicians or people volunteering to work for the public must think about their duty, not just their personal rights," he said.

While gathering to pay tribute to and commemorate the death of King Rama V at the Equestrian Statue at the Royal Plaza yesterday, Anant Laulertvotakul, a co-ordinator for Chulalongkorn University's Network for Ethical Democracy, an anti-Thaksin group, said his and other civic groups would submit a letter today to the members of the NLA urging them not to vote for Meechai.

"Meechai's latest achievement in drafting the 2006 Interim Constitution was not transparent as it allows the NLA, the National People's Assembly and the Constitution Drafting Assembly to share the same speaker," he said.

Air Force commander-in-chief ACM Chalit Pookphasuk, the deputy leader of the CNS, yesterday denied news reports of a bloc vote being organised for today.

"I'm not familiar with any news report about lobbying members to vote for [particular] candidates for NLA speaker, but it is possible that all parties might have initially preferred different people - and then talked to each other.

The CNS organised no vote bloc for the post of NLA Speaker. Anybody can be the speaker and chair the meeting. Everybody is capable, and nobody can dominate others. All members are mature and lobbying them would be difficult," he said.

Spokesman for the CNS-appointed Assets Examination Committee (AEC), Sak Korsaengruang, said he didn't know whether bloc voting had gone on. However, the assembly should set a new standard for Parliament by being free from politics. It should be better than the last Parliament, which was interfered with by outside politicians, he said.

"Don't maintain the existing power system, as it will only hurt the public. If political reform fails, we won't be able to explain it to the people. People with an old-fashioned [political] image who behave like old-style politicians should withdraw and open the way for people with a new political image," he said.

Democrat Party spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon said NLA members should vote for the speaker freely.

Moreover, they should be aware of people with bad intentions releasing the names of popular candidates as it could hurt the image of the NLA, he said.