Election on course regardless of referendum outcome

A general election will definitely be held in July next year

even though the draft constitution is voted down in a referendum,

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Tuesday.

 A constitution he has prepared will be used, he added

without elaborating which one. "Don't worry about it.

I'll make it happen no matter what." The prime minister declined

 to confirm whether the 2014 interim charter would be amended

or an entirely new one he had in mind will be used.

 “If the draft constitution is voted down and after the election,

 some groups won’t accept the results, you solve the problems

 yourselves.I definitely won’t shoot fellow Thais.”

Asked what will happen if the draft constitution is rejected,

Gen Prayut said: “That’s my business. I won’t say now.

Why did you ask as if you don’t want it to pass? Don’t you

 know the country needs reform? Or do you want it to be

 the same as it was?”

Asked when he is ready to reveal it, the PM said: “I’ll tell

you after the draft charter is voted down. It won’t pass if

 I reveal now.”

The prime minister said he wanted the draft constitution to

 be endorsed. “What’s so bad about it? Don’t you want it to

pass? Are you reporters going to run the country?”

With a referendum on the draft constitution just a few months

 away, public concern is mounting about the consequences of

 a “no” vote, with both charter writers and junta members refusing

 to rule out the indefinite use of the military's interim charter.

And with PM Prayut insisting on Tuesday that an election would

 be held next year regardless of the referendum outcome,

confusion is growing.

 Meechai Ruchuphan, chairman of the Constitution Drafting

Committee (CDC), started the ball rolling on Tuesday when

asked by reporters what would happen if the draft was voted down.

"If the draft is not endorsed in a referendum, we'll be stuck with

 the 2014 interim charter," he said.

 His comment created headlines in many Thai papers, which

took it to mean the 2014 charter promulgated after the coup

 and giving the junta chief sweeping power under Section 44,

would be used permanently.

Law academics, however, noted it was impossible to use the

 interim charter in its current form for the long haul as it doesn't

 contain provisions on several key elements such as elections.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Tuesday

 Mr Meechai might be joking.

"However, it's not impossible if the interim charter is amended.

But what's the point if we have to change or add more than 120

 sections? It's tantamount to drafting a new one," he said.

When a constitution is used as the framework, it doesn't mean

all of its content will be copied verbatim, Mr Wissanu explained.

He confirmed academics' views that the interim charter could

 not be used permanently because it doesn't have sections on

 elections or even the requirement of policy statements after a

government sworn in.

 Mr Meechai also said on Monday there was no need to spell out

 what would happen when thedraft was voted down.

 He reasoned voters won't read its content and judge it for its

 merits if an alternative is laid on the table.

 Agreeing with Mr Meechai, Mr Wissanu said preparing the

alternative in advance was like willing the draft to fail.

"But the junta and the government will have to think how to

deal with such scenario," he said.

"In any case, we have to have an answer to people what would

 happen in the ‘no’ scenario. The answer may come in the form

of amendments to the interim charter.

 But if there's no change to it, rest assured we'll find a way,

only we can't say it now."

 Mr Wissanu urged all sides not to comment on this issue for

now and promised the junta and the government would come up

 with the best solution.

CDC spokesman Amorn Vanichvivat said on Tuesday if the

 draft was voted down, it was possible the junta's charter

would be used.

“The problem is nobody knows what it looks like. So what's

wrong with the draft laid on the table here?"

 The first version of the draft constitution will be unveiled

 on Friday. Among the elements criticised as "undemocratic"

 in it are accomodation of an outsider prime minister,

composition of the senate, unchecked powers of independent

 bodies and difficulties in amending it.

 The referendum on the draft charter, the second in Thai history,

 is expected to be held in the middle of this year.

When it was held for the first time in 2007 for the 2007 charter,

 the powers-that-be also did not make it clear what people

would get if they voted no, only saying the then coupmakers

would pick any of the previous constitutions as they saw fit.

 The draft was endorsed in August, with 57.81% of all 25 million

 cast votes out of 45.89 million eligible voters.

Critics said then it was not a free referendum because martial

law still applied in several areas at the time. Supporters and

opponents of it did not get equal chances to air their views

and freedom of expressions were curbed.

 Most importantly, they said voters had no real choice as they

 did not know what they would get if they turned it down.

News,Politics,Bangkok Post, 26 January 2016.

 

Good news for Thais people that the general election will be

 held in the next July,but still hope  the new draft charter can

 pass the referendum so that this will lead the country to

 sustainable and true democracy we want.

The  public opinions for the draft charter is need before

final and before it go to referendum so that we can get the

 constitution of people by people.

 

Sincerely Yours.