They agreed that any such attempt would rouse public suspicion and would lessen the credibility of the new constitution. Ultimately, confrontations between supporters and detractors of the new charter could lead to a new round of political crisis, they warned.

Campaign for Popular Democracy secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila said the government, the CNS, as well as the Constitution Drafting Assembly should avoid making public statements on what the new constitution should look like.

Doing so could lead to suspicions among the public, he said.

The political activist said public participation in the process of constitution drafting should be encouraged and political parties should propose their blueprints for promoting political reform.

Last week, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told election commissioners that he agreed with the idea raised by certain politicians he met that the number of MPs should be reduced to 300 from 500 in the previous constitution and that senators should be appointed and their number halved to 100.

Metha Maskhao, coordinator of the Campaign for Human Rights, said he feared that there was already a blueprint laid out for the charter drafters by the government and the CNS.

He said that to avoid such a suspicions the constitution writers should frequently report the progress of their work to the public, instead of telling them when the draft would be completed.

The activist said there could be outrage if the charter writers eventually included suggestions from the government and the CNS in the draft.

"If that becomes the case, and the drafters are merely a rubber stamp, political crisis will be inevitable," he said.

Chusak Sirinil, a legal expert of the Thai Rak Thai Party, said yesterday that drafting a charter that was more "regressive" than the 1997 Constitution could cause widespread outrage and a new round of political crisis.

Thai Rak Thai spokesman Kuthep Saikrajang warned the charter writers against following "guidance" from the powers-that-be.

Somsak Thepsuthin, leader of the Wang Nam Yom political faction, expressed opposition to the idea of reducing the number of MPs, saying that fewer MPs meant there would be a greater workload on the those remaining.