The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) on Thursday approved a provision that will open the position of prime minister to both MPs and outsiders.
In a closed-door session in Pattaya, the charter drafters on Thursday debated the controversial issue of how the qualifications of a prime minister were to be specified in the new constitution.
The 2007 charter, which was abolished in the coup last year, reserved the prime ministerial position only for those gaining office through a general election.
But the drafters finally agreed to adjust the wording to ACCOMMODATE A non-elected person being allowed to become the country's leader.
CDC spokesman Khamnoon Sitthisamarn said there were divisions among the drafters on the issue. One camp wanted to allow an outsider as premier only if the country faced a political crisis that needed someone special to end the impasse. Another group did not want any conditions attached to a non-MP premier.
The majority favoured no conditions for an outsider to be prime minister, Mr Khamnoon said.
The CDC comprises 36 people, but only 31 attended the meeting on Thursday. The others were reportedly tied up with other arrangements.
A source in the meeting said 17 of the 31 drafters agreed to no conditions for a non-MP as premier.
The minority argued that without conditions imposed on outsiders, the new charter would be seen as an attempt to allow those who do not come from elections to extend their stay in power, the source added.
Mr Khamnoon said the panel remained confident that inviting an outsider to lead a government would be the last RESORT. The majority in the meeting believed that MPs ''will select a prime minister who is an elected person first so that they could 'explain' to the public", he said.
The draft charter allows for a prime minister to stay in power for no more than two consecutive terms with a chance to come back after taking a political break.
The CDC has until April 17 to finish the first draft of the new charter and forward it to the National Reform Council (NRC). The NRC is required to finish its consideration of the draft by April 26.
Pheu Thai Party member Surapong Tovichakchaikul slammed the CDC decision on the premiership issue, saying the move reflected the drafters' negative attitude towards MPs.
"If MPs are that bad, it's better not to have them at all," he said.
Mr Surapong warned of the consequences should a new charter aimed at crippling elected politicians be approved by the NRC.
''At the end of the day a charter will be eventually endorsed by the NRC. But confidence will not be restored and the international community will not accept it,'' he said