Thai NLA passes interim charter amendment on referendum

[webfact]

NLA passes interim charter amendment on referendum



BANGKOK: -- The National Legislative Assembly has passed an amendment to the interim charter regarding referendum as proposed by the government and the National Council for Peace and Order.

Deputy Prime Minister Wisanu Krea-ngarm who proposed the amendment on behalf of the government and the NCPO told the NLA said that only Section 39/1 of the interim charter would be amended in five issues.

Under the proposed amendment, eligible voters in the referendum mean voters who actually cast the ballots and the passage of the charter draft will be determined by the majority of the votes casted.

Dr Wisanu said that the proposed amendment on this issue was meant to pre-empt a boycott of the referendum. So even if there is a boycott, if the majority of the actual voters vote in support of the charter draft, the charter draft will be endorsed.

The other issues endorsed by the NLA include: the voters must be at least 18 years old on the voting day; copies of the charter draft need not be distributed to 80 percent of the households but the government will have to launch campaign to educate the public about the charter draft.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/154570


-- Thai PBS 2016-03-11

[Srikcir]

the passage of the charter draft will be determined by the majority of the votes casted.

This was the same rule for the 2007 Constitution referendum. It passed by about a 57-59% margin of all votes cast. This equalled to about only one-third of the total eligible voter base. It will be easier to suppress voting than to encourage it. A high turnout would validate the results by likely reject the draft charter.

eligible voters in the referendum mean voters who actually cast the ballots

So anyone blocked from voting at a poll will be considered an ineligible voter. Looks like Suthep and his PDRC will be busy on referendum day.

[Srikcir]

copies of the charter draft need not be distributed to 80 percent of the households

That avoids having to publish the draft in Kelantan-Pattani Malay that is the primary language spoken by Malay Thais in the South. The 2007 draft constitution was also only written in Thai for its referendum. No mention of the government posting the draft charter online at its web site. Maybe they fear it will be hacked.

Notice there's no mention of what percentage of households will see a copy of the full charter draft. 50%? 30%? The EC has plans to send brochures to all voters with a brief summary of the draft charter and allegedly four pages positing major reasons to support or oppose it. Obviously the EC can "cherry pick" those articles that would favor the voters.