New Democracy Movement and iLAW to join public debates on draft charter



BANGKOK: -- The New Democracy Movement and iLAW which oppose the draft constitution will be allowed to join public debates on the draft constitution to be staged by the Election Commission.

Election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said Monday that the EC planned ten debates from July 25 to August 5 which are to be broadcast by Thai PBS from 1 pm-2 pm free of charges.

The EC will set the ten issues to be debated, most of which concern the rights of the people which are widely misunderstood due to misinformation such as the 30-baht universal health care system, free education programme, pension fees for the elderly, management of natural resources and international treaties, said Mr Somchai.

Because of the initiative for public debates of the New Democracy Movement and former senator Jon Ungphakorn’s iLAW, the commissioner said two will be allowed to join 4 of the 10 debates planned.

All stakeholders will be allowed to join the debates, including the Constitution Drafting Committee, and they will be allowed to air their views freely on the condition that they will not incite public unrest or to cause disturbance to disrupt the debates and to confine the talks on the draft charter.

He said that the debates will not be televised live but will be broadcast later on through Thai PBS TV station.

EC deputy secretary-general Thanit Sriprathet, meanwhile, said the EC had set aside 10 million baht to publish the draft charter in seven Thai-languange newspapers namely Thai Rath, Daily News, Matichon, Naew Na, Kom Chad Loek, Thai Post and Post Today starting on July 21.

He insisted that publication of the draft charter in newspapers is more cost effective than the EC publishing the draft and having them distributed.

Asked why the EC does not publish the draft in English, he said the EC does not have the staff to do the translation which has to be certified that the translation is correct.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/172947-2/


-- Thai PBS 2016-07-19

Airing their opposition to the draft would be akin to walking on egg shells with the conditions set for the debate bin regards to causing any unrest.

A plus for the government would be a name gathering excersise in what could be a spider come into my parlour fly trap.

It will be interesting just how far the opponents will go with their dialogue.

Why not live? The debates will no be fair.

Going to be a lot of video editing before broadcasting any of the debates.

You'll never know how far the opponents will go with their dialogue except by any arrests after each taping session. The raw footage could be used against debaters t charge violation of the Referendum Act.

the EC does not have the staff to do the translation

Lame excuse. The collaboration of the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assisstance, Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Thailand and the International Commission of Jurists were able to publish a translation of the draft in english.

the EC does not have the staff to do the translation

Lame excuse. The collaboration of the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assisstance, Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Thailand and the International Commission of Jurists were able to publish a translation of the draft in english.

Maybe the GOOD translators don't want to work for an organisation like the EC, for a variety of reasons? Just like they apparently don't want to work for Thai PBS.

Edited July 19, 20169 yr by tuanku

He said that the debates will not be televised live but will be broadcast later on through Thai PBS TV station.

how convenient when inconvenient ideas are expressed.

He said that the debates will not be televised live but will be broadcast later on through Thai PBS TV station.

how convenient when inconvenient ideas are expressed.

Of course. In this way they can sanitize what will be broadcasted and trunkate part of it, i.e. broadcast 30mn on resource management topic and 30s on appointed senate topic!

And, they seem to have left out the parts of who will control the government?