"Soldiers are interested in learning about the draft constitution because they too will have to cast a vote in the referendum, and I can confirm there is no standing order to influence the drafting of the charter," CNS deputy chairman Air Chief Marshal Chalit Pukphasuk said.

Chalit said all sectors of society should become involved in the drafting process in order to ensure a satisfactory outcome for the rewritten charter.

He also reminded anti-coup activists to abide by the law when airing their opposition to the drafting process. "I know certain people want to pick a fight aimed at derailing the referendum but authorities will not fall prey to their provocation, although they are obliged to maintain the rule of law," he said.

Meanwhile, the military members of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) expressed support for a draft provision to appoint a non-elected prime minister in times of crisis.

NLA member General Panthep Phuwanartnurak said the provision, if adopted, would be an option to resolve a political deadlock and prevent a future coup.

"I don't think soldiers want to risk staging a coup but in order to make any military intervention unnecessary, there must be a clear way to overcome any crisis of leadership," he said.

Panthep said during last year's street protests against Thaksin's leadership, Article 7 of the 1997 Constitution could not be invoked to appoint a new prime minister because of its ambiguity. This should be remedied, he said.

He said under normal circumstances he supported the provision for the prime minister to be elected from among the members of Parliament.

"I don't think it's a good idea to allow a lot of leeway to appoint a non-elected prime minister because this could pave the way for the return of Thaksin [Shinawatra], who can manipulate the public sentiment without having to contest elections," he said.

He said the debate on elected versus non-elected prime ministers should not be distracted by undue concern about the future of the CNS. He dismissed speculation that the CNS would try to hold on to power, arguing there was no plausible reason to suspect the CNS would want to become an outcast in society.

Democrat Party deputy leader Alongkorn Pollabutr said his party had no objection if charter writers cancelled or reduced the House seats allocated to party-list MPs.

Alongkorn said history showed party-list MPs were mostly party financiers who tried to grab power without having to be accountable.

In an opinion survey released yesterday, seven out of 10 young people aged between 17 and 19 said they planned to cast a "yes" vote in the referendum on the constitution draft.

The survey was conducted by Abac Poll with 1,269 respondents between Wednesday and Friday in Bangkok. The majority of young people wanted the referendum to be a success to enable the country to move forward.