• 
• 

Published on August 25, 2007

The three bills must be finished in 45 days and are necessary for the general election to take place.

The choice received overwhelming support from the 33-member committee, with the exception of Patara Khamphitak.

"The public's view may not be positive," he told the meeting, in reference to the fact that Prasong was chairman of the CDC, which drafted the laws. One member discounted the concern, saying Prasong's legal status as chairman of the CDC was to expire yesterday afternoon anyhow.

The appointment of two spokespersons for the committee was also questioned by Patara because they were both important figures in the anti-Thaksin Shinawatra People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

The two are Phoojadkarn newspaper columnist Khamnoon Sitthisamarn, and ASTV journalist Praphan Koonmee.

And that was not the end of talk about conflicts of interest.

Election commissioner Prapan Naiyakowit said jokingly during the meeting that he "felt uneasy" when seeing Praphan, who was earlier appointed by the junta as member of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), because for a brief moment he felt he was going to be interviewed.

But Praphan said the election commissioner might himself be in a compromised position as he was also appointed to the new subcommittee to review the draft law for the EC.

Three subcommittees have been set up to review the draft bills written by the CDC. NLA member Bowornsak Uwanno will head the subcommittee reviewing the draft bill on political parties; former EC commissioner Yuwarat Kamolwet will chair the subcommittee on the election bill, while NLA member Sujit Boonbongka will chair the subcommittee on the EC bill.

Prasong said he wanted everything completed by the October 2 deadline.

Four generals from the NLA are also on the committee, viewed by some sectors of the media as crucial for ensuring that Thaksin will not be able to stage a political return.

The committee decided yesterday that most of the meetings, which will resume on Monday, should be open to the media, with only some to be held behind closed doors.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation