'Much needs to be done before referendum is held on charter'

[webfact]

PUBLIC REFERENDUM
'Much needs to be done before referendum is held on charter'
NITIPOL KIRAVANICH
THE NATION

Politicians, academics say public forums should be conducted

BANGKOK: -- EVEN though the National Council for Peace and Order has finally agreed to allow a national referendum on the new constitution, much needs to be done to educate the public about it and to work out how it should be carried out, academics and politicians say.

"There should definitely be public hearings for people to debate intensely between those who agree or disagree with the charter, as well as through the media and forums, and strengthening of public participation," Suriyasai Katasila, director of the Thailand Reform Institution (TRI), said recently.

Attasit Pankaew, a political science lecturer at Thammasat University, said the most important aspect of the referendum is the "ballot language".

The "ballot" in some countries is written only to give people the chance to accept the draft or reject it, while others also describe what would happen next after people approve or disapprove it.

Another important consideration is that the public must be informed and given time to study the draft.

When New Zealand tried to change their electoral system, they took a year for their citizens to argue for and against the changes and forwarded literature to them.

Some have argued that people should be given the choice between this charter and previous ones.

The referendum campaign will also affect people's decisions - if they understand what will happen if the charter is passed or not.

People have little information on how the national referendum might turn out.

"Right now the CDC (Constitution Drafting Committee) is amending some articles and there are many articles that I disagree with, but if the process reaches the approval stage, I will vote to approve this charter," he said.

"I believe that there are no designs for the best constitution in the world, but I will focus on whether the charter has more positive aspects than negative ones," he said.

Attasit has already looked beyond the issues of which people drafting the charter were appointed by the junta, or those who seized power.

"The democracy in this charter has morphed from the previous ones. At this point I can still accept it," he said.

"In reality we cannot have an ideal charter because designing political institutions has both pros and cons, and I want people to realise that as well," he said.

"The challenge for the charter is whether people can accept its negative aspects or not," he said.

Weng Tojirakarn, co-leader of the red-shirt United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship, said the reason the junta decided to hold a referendum is that the "five rivers" - NCPO, Cabinet, National Legislative Assembly (NLA), National Reform Council (NRC) and CDC - surrendered to the voices of people who opposed or disagreed with what CDC chairman Borwornsak Uwanno has drafted.

"They're cornered. Now they're calling for help from the people through the national referendum," he said.

Weng said if the referendum only gives people the chance to approve or disapprove of this new constitution, it would not help the country. The NCPO should give people alternatives - whether they want the new charter, the charter of 2007 or the 1997 edition.

He said there should be forums for people to freely voice their opinions on the charter.

That was because if the new charter was the only draft put on the table for people to vote on and it fails to be approved, the NCPO would remain in power indefinitely. So, granting options for people to choose could prevent this from happening.

"If the new draft is not approved by the people there should be a new drafting committee, which comes from a direct election. It should be elected within 180 days as a way out for the country," he said.

Weng said that he, for one, would vote Borwornsak's "ridiculous" charter down.

"It certainly fails in my opinion because there are many undemocratic matters imprinted in the new charter," he argued.

The "outsider" PM, mixed-member representatives and selected senators were the most problematic features that would obstruct democracy in the country, he said.

And all of the new independent organisations - the National Ethical Committee, Reconciliation Committee, People's Assembly, Reform Movement Council and eight other bodies - should be dropped from the constitution because no one agreed to them, he claimed.

Given the choice of the 1997, 2007 or this 2015 constitution, he would go with the 1997 version because it was much better than Borwornsak's product, he said.

TRI director Suriyasai disagreed with giving people options to the new charter, saying the referendum should be on the new constitution only.

"If we are given options to choose from, the issue of why we accept a previous one rather than this one will emerge," he said.

If someone sided with the 1997 charter, another one would doubt why the first one was not like the 2007 or the new charter, and vice versa, he said.

"The purpose of the referendum is to answer whether we agree or disagree with the question addressed to us," he said.

"If there are options of constitutions in this upcoming national referendum, it will not be on the newly drafted charter, rather it will become a process of comparing this new charter to the previous ones," he said.

Suriyasai, who was a political activist with the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy, said holding public hearings before the referendum was more important.

Now a lecturer at the College of Social Innovation at Rangsit University, Suriyasai was concerned that people were not informed enough about the charter and the referendum process. "When people have little understanding, I worry that the referendum will be just a ritual. People who vote against this new charter might not truly want the 1997 or 2007 constitution. They might simply just want to oppose the junta, so the intent of the referendum will be totally deviated from," he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Much-needs-to-be-done-before-referendum-is-held-on-30260863.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-25

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Wow... if takes them as long as this article is then the referendum will never happen.

[NongKhaiKid]

Another thread mentions a ' successful ' seminar with peoples' representatives supporting decentralisation. Who exactly are these representatives and how did they get selected ?

[zaphod reborn]

And now will the media admit that it has been a complete and utter failure in educating the public about the contents and issues presented by the charter draft? No, it will continue to focus on minor issues about whether a non-elected MP can be selected as PM. The media will never take responsibility for its lack of analysis in presenting the charter draft over the past several months.

[Toscano]

I think the worrying problem , expressed by this article , is that the majority of voters will vote against this new constitution , irrespective of its content .

It is questionable whether it makes sense to have a referendum , as even those writing it have doubts about its acceptibility .

Were there a choice of former constitutions , i expect a majority of voters would choose that of 1997 .

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

And now will the media admit that it has been a complete and utter failure in educating the public about the contents and issues presented by the charter draft? No, it will continue to focus on minor issues about whether a non-elected MP can be selected as PM. The media will never take responsibility for its lack of analysis in presenting the charter draft over the past several months.

What media? Does a puppet have its own voice? The media has being threaten and silenced. The only voice you hear is that of the NCPO puppet master. Oh and that referendum will continued to be delayed by Muchneedstobedone.

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

By the time Muchneedstobedone is finished there will be no need for a referendum, a charter nor democracy. You forget article 44? The NCPO has the final word. Let'sseehowthatworksout.. well he'll be a little late.

[wowfactor10]

Its all a waist of time and money...

Nobody likes this charter except the 20 plus people who drafted it...

[greenchair]

If the constitution drafters and the nrc and the ncpo and the nla themselves cannot agree on this constitution.

How do they have the audacity, to ask the people to agree on it.

[tbthailand]

I, for one, was surprised that the 'NCPO' agreed to a referendum. So I tend to side with the position above that they felt 'cornered'.

It's not come out yet, but certainly if the 'NCPO' is going to allow a referendum, then "much needs to be done" to insure that either the charter is approved, and the junta wins, or that in the case the charter is rejected that the junta still wins - eg: stay in power and rewrite the charter again.

The referendum has always been a red herring - the anti-democrats have written the charter that they want to have in order to impose their will on all of Thailand and if those uppity voters chose the wrong candidates again, they'll be able to remove the government "constitutionally" without resorting to a coup... There is nothing democratic about this new draft.

[Srikcir]

I, for one, was surprised that the 'NCPO' agreed to a referendum. So I tend to side with the position above that they felt 'cornered'.

It's not come out yet, but certainly if the 'NCPO' is going to allow a referendum, then "much needs to be done" to insure that either the charter is approved, and the junta wins, or that in the case the charter is rejected that the junta still wins - eg: stay in power and rewrite the charter again.

The referendum has always been a red herring - the anti-democrats have written the charter that they want to have in order to impose their will on all of Thailand and if those uppity voters chose the wrong candidates again, they'll be able to remove the government "constitutionally" without resorting to a coup... There is nothing democratic about this new draft.

I thought that NCPO agreed that it would allow an amendment to the Interim Charter that would allow a referendum. But it warned that doesn't necessarily mean that it will actually allow a referendum to take place. Just more delay tactics.

[Docno]

Delay... delay... delay... delay....