The first draft of the 2007 constitution has been completed amid sighs of relief by proponents and resounding disapproval from detractors. Next, the Constitution Drafting Assembly and numerous state and independent bodies will provide feedback and reaction for possible revisions before the final draft is prepared.

The process of drafting Thailand's latest constitution appears to be going well despite some hiccups in the form of opposition by academics and activists. Many of them are campaigning for a 'No' vote in the nation-wide referendum on the draft constitution.

The draft charter has obtained praise from certain elements in society, with some saying it is even better than the so-called People's Constitution of 1997, in which proposals and viewpoints from the public were well incorporated and was described as one of the country's best. However, there is one big stigma that will stick to the new constitution forever: it was drafted by people appointed by the coup-makers.

The drafters of the previous charter, which was scrapped after the coup on September 19, were mostly elected and many of them well recognised. So the end result was widely accepted by the different groups in society.

This constitution - however well it is written - will be viewed in a bad light because its drafters were not chosen democratically. This may sound like an idealist view that fails to take other aspects into consideration. But it will hold true even after it is scrapped and becomes part of Thai political history.

It is now too late to regret the questionable source of the drafters. This is just one of many of the Kingdom's 17 interim and "permanent" constitutions that have been drafted by groups of people appointed after military coups. This has happened from time to time since we had our first constitution in 1932. It is just unfortunate that this continues to be the case today.

A long-term remedy to this necessary evil - such as preventing future coups from happening in Thailand - may never be accomplished. However, voting against the draft in the referendum would empower the Council for National Security to pick a previous constitution (most likely the 1997 one) to be put into use, so that may not be a wise move either, given the drafters' attempt to rectify flaws in the old charter.

One possible solution to the dilemma may be to add a clause in the new constitution that allows an elected Parliament to amend it.

However, the draft first needs to survive the referendum, expected to be held in September.

Idealist academics, pro-democracy activists and supporters of the previous administration overthrown in last September's coup have all vowed to reject the draft. Other groups have threatened to vote against the charter draft if their demands are not included.

These include an alliance of people with disabilities who are campaigning for a clearer wording that would guarantee them "rights to accessibility", and a coalition of Buddhist monks and lay people pushing for the new constitution to state that Buddhism is the national religion.

Even though it can pass the important hurdle, the new constitution's future will remain uncertain.

The constitution of 1997 was nine years old when it was scrapped. That made it among the longest terms for a Thai charter. Others were mostly short-lived, lasting for less than five years, except for the 1959 Charter for the Administration of the Kingdom, promulgated during the dictatorial regime of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, before it was replaced by the 1968 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Kittipong Thavevong

The Nation