The Association of Village and Tambon Chiefs of Thailand has threatened to vote down the draft constitution if a provision on central and regional administrations is not included in it.
Association president Yongyos Kaewkhiew said that in the chapter on local administration the new charter prepared by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) did not mention central and regional administration.We local leaders are of the opinion that there will be problems in the future if a provision on the central and regional administration is not written into the draft constitution. If this is not included in the charter, our association, which has 3-4 million members, may not vote for the draft charter in the public referendum," he said.
Mr Yongyos said about 300 association members would submit a letter containing the proposal to the CDC and the National Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
He did not go into detail about how the country's administration would be affected if this provision was omitted.
On Monday, several people's networks and organisations submitted their letters to the CDC, proposing changes to the draft charter.
A network of people from southern border provinces called for the inclusion of community rights.
A group of 61 former members of the defunct National Reform Council submitted nine proposals to the CDC.
CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan said the committee was looking into the reasoning in each of the proposals, to see if any changes should be made to the draft charter, but would not take into consideration any proposal that would require the whole draft to be rewritten.
Mr Meechai said it seemed that the private and people's sectors were most concerned about rights and liberties.