EC concerned over referendum time frame

[Lite Beer]

EC concerned over referendum time frame

BANGKOK, 1 May 2015 (NNT) - Election Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn has stressed that it is necessary to provide forums on the pros and cons of the draft charter before a referendum takes place.

Mr. Somchai on Saturday said the Election Commission (EC) was concerned whether 90 days would be long enough for people to learn about the draft charter. If they did not understand the draft charter before casting their vote in the referendum, the referendum might cause conflicts in the society, he said.

Mr. Somchai stated further that he wanted to see a referendum that was open to all voters. He also suggested that there should be forums for charter debates so that people would be more informed and use the knowledge they learned from the forums to decide whether to vote yes or no in the referendum.

-- NNT 2015-05-02

[catterwell]

In 1867, Walter Bagehot wrote:

"Every constitution ... must first win the loyalty of mankind, and then employ that homage in the work of government ..... It is useless to pile up abstract words. Those who doubt should go out into their kitchens. Let an accomplished man try what seems to him most obvious, most certain, most palpable in intellectual matters, upon the housemaid or the footman, and he will find that what he says seems unintelligible, confused, and erroneous ... A philosophy which does not ceaselessly remember, which does not continuously obtrude, the palpable differences of the various parts, will be a theory radically false, because it had omitted a capital reality".

In my view, Bagehot's "The English Constitution" is a must read for anyone interested in such matters. I wonder how many members of the Constitution Drafting Committee have even heard of Bagehot?

[meltingpot2015]

Mr Wutthisak Larpcharoensap rector of Ramkhamhaeng University, who is a member of the 5 member charter writing team, is bound to have heard of Bagehot.

By the way, I wonder if Suchit Bunbongkarn and Prudhisan Jumbala were ever in the running for the position.

[wowfactor10]

I do not think people will need ninety days to read study the charter hahahahah...

[greenchair]

When I read the 1997 constitution or even the 2007 constitution. They were both clear and easy to understand. The 1997 constitution was clearly written with the rights of the people at the forefront. I used the academic freedom law myself in court. Along with the good governance law and the right for every person to work to make a living and survive. These rights are essential for people in a country with no welfare benefits and a struggling education system.

I now compare to the 2014 constitution, which is incredibly difficult to understand. Academic freedoms now says "all people have the right to academic freedoms except when a court of law says they dont" I could not find the good governance law nor the right to make a living , it is so complicated I might have missed it. There is of course also the law that says "the people can have an elected government, except when -----".

Any document that has an "accept

When " clause cannot be relied upon 100 percent in my opinion.