The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) should lift martial law, imposed nationwide since May 20, to clear away an obstacle to the process of taking public opinion on national reform, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday.
Mr Abhisit was speaking before a meeting with the Constitution Drafting Committee to give his suggestions. He was invited by CDC chairman Bowornsak Uwanno.
He said the opinions and suggestions he would give the CDC were his own, not on behalf of the Democrat Party, because political party meetings are still prohibited by martial law.
Mr Abhisit said he would make three proposals to the CDC. First, he wanted the constitution to be sustainable and to be subject to a public referendum before taking effect.
Second, the new charter should not restrict the rights and liberties of the people, who should be given the opportunity to participate in the drafting process.
Third, the main obstacles in the political system must be removed and corruption problems must be solved by creating more monitoring mechanisms, he said, but did not elaborate.
Mr Abhisit said some issues may be written into the constitution, while others may be issued as supplementary laws. The new constitution should be put to a public referendum to prevent further arguments over its legitimacy.
The questionaire used in the referendum should be open and give people more choices than simply "yes" or "no."
He said the prime minister should come from elections. The method of acquiring senators should be different from that for the election of members of the House of Representatives.
While a majority vote is necessary to decide matters in the parliamentary system, there should also be a system to monitor use of the majority power.
The Democrat Party leader said martial law should be lifted so that it would not be an obstacle to the process of taking public opinion on the charter and reforms.
He personally believed there would not be a problem with law and order in many areas at the same time. If necessary, the NCPO could reinstate martial law in the areas where problems occur.
The NCPO should weigh the difference between restricting the rights and liberties of people, and losing the opportunity to take opinions from the people, Mr Abhisit said. He believed security agencies had the information to enable this.
On Alongkorn Polaboot's intention to resign from the Democrat Party, Mr Abhisit said it was Mr Alongkorn's right to do so because he wanted to perform the duties of a member of the National Reform Council without being tied to the party.
Where Mr Alongkorn would rejoin the Democrat Party after he finished the task was up to him, Mr Abhisit said.