Party-list MPs good : Kanin, Seree

Drafters of the now-defunct 1997 Constitution opposed the idea of scrapping party-list MPs, while those who back the move believe the system

of proportional representation causes rampant vote buying.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said last week the number of MPs should be reduced from 500 to 300. And several members of the Constitution Drafting Committee have supported the idea and hinted that the party-list election might be scrapped.

Kanin Boonsuwan, a writer of the 1997 charter, said the party-list election was a symbol of "the people's voice" and gave an opportunity for

several well-known experts who are not politicians to get into Parliament.

Furthermore, he said, voters could expect to see candidates for prime minister and other Cabinet members from the lists provided by political

parties to contest elections.

Kanin claimed the party-list system had been a success in previous elections. However, the junta has viewed party-lists as a way for dishonest

politicians to abuse the system, he said, adding it was the nature of some politicians to try to abuse loopholes - but the charter was not to

blame.

"When the junta says we no longer need the party-list system, I want to ask them if it was the cause of political trouble or not."

Kanin said the powers-that-be were likely to overturn everything associated with the Thaksin Shinawatra regime. But he said any problem

caused by party-lists should be blamed on politicians who abused them - not the system itself.

The former charter drafter doubted if the removal of the party-list from the new constitution would lead to improved politics, or reduce the

problem of vote buying.

Even though Surayud later said the idea of reducing the number of MPs was not his personal view, Kanin said those who were against the

party-list lacked an understanding of politics.

The "bad circle" of politics not only came from politicians but also from government officials and capitalists. "The state seems to avoid talking

about its own officials, but puts the blame on politicians instead," the former writer said.

Kanin said the junta was trapping people in order to hang on to power. "They try to raise controversial issues about the new constitution in

order to make people vote against the new constitution draft."

Seree Suwanpanont, another drafter of the 1997 Constitution, said he disagreed with reducing the number of MPs, saying it was not the cause of the vote-buying.

The problem of the vote buying came from the Election Commission's lack of a proper investigation system, said Seree, who is deputy chairman

of the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA).

Seree said the 1997 drafters took the idea of the party-list system from Europe and considered that those in the system would not be involved in vote buying as they tended to be people of quality, rather than merely ambitious politicians. "Party-lists are still useful for politics as people

with knowledge and expertise, but have no constituency, can enter Parliament," he said.

Sucheera Pinijparakarn

The Nation
Thu, February 1, 2007