Heed result of referendum, says Somchai

 

With 33 days to go before the planned referendum, the Election
 Commission has finally begun to move on sending millions of
 information booklets on the draft constitution to Thailand Post
for mailing. (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)

The referendum and its outcome must be respected, Election
Commission member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn has warned,
urging all parties to accept the result whether they are satisfied
 with it or not.

The charter referendum process -- which has been criticised by
 rights advocates for its lack of public participation and free debate
 as well as the tight restrictions on freedom of expression –
should not follow Britain's example, Mr Somchai said.

 In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, many Britons were displeased
with the majority's decision to leave the European Union, which
 has sparked protests and calls for another referendum to be
 organised.

 "That is not how referendums should function," he said,
 urging all political factions to put an end to their campaigning
once voters have gone to the polling stations and cast their
 referendum votes on Aug 7.

 In the weeks leading up to the Brexit vote, false information was

spread to the public with some participants framing their arguments

 with hate speech,Mr Somchai said.

 The EC is doing its best under the Referendum Act to curtail the s

pread of misinformation, he said. (In a separate development,

members of the military-appointed National Reform Steering

 Assembly (NRSA) took their deputy chairman and former

 Democrat Party MP Alongkorn Ponlaboot to task for what they

 called secret meetings with politicians.)

 Ex-politician rapped: Alongkorn 'a loose cannon'

See also: Academics demand release of activists

Any conflict from a campaign to mislead people would leave society

divided in the wake of the referendum, Mr Somchai said.

The public must rally behind the result of the Aug 7 vote so as to

 avoid any splits, he said. If the draft charter presented by the

 military-appointed Constitution Drafting Committee does not pass

 the referendum, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)

 will have to set up a new drafting team, to create a new draft in the

 following three months.

 However, there will be no time to hold another referendum and the

next draft will have to be submitted to the King for endorsement and

 adopted soon after, allowing a general election to take place as

expected next year, if the NCPO intends to stick to its roadmap.

Time is running out fast, Mr Somchai added, adding the military

 should not further deviate from the roadmap, as it has repeatedly

 promised the people an election next year.

However, a rejected draft charter would present a political scenario

 which is worrying for the country, according to academics and

 politicians who debated Thailand's political future at a seminar at the

Thai Public Broadcasting (Thai PBS) Monday.

The path ahead will lack clarity if the draft charter is rejected in

 the referendum, said Ekkachai Chainuvati, a law professor at

 Siam University.

Thana Cheeravinij, a former Democrat Party MP, said: "Thais know

 the consequences of the choice they are bound to make, if they vote

 to accept the draft. However, they don't know what lies ahead if

they reject it.''

This is far from being an ideal situation for people only a month away

 from the vote, he said. Peace academic Gothom Arya, also a former

director of Mahidol University's Institute for Human Rights and

Peace Studies, said he was worried that if the charter is rejected,

another draft would be written and adopted with no public

 participation or endorsement.

He suggested the regime should instead come up with a new charter,

based on either the 1997 or the 2007 charter, to be adopted over the

 next four years until a new election.

 During that time, a charter  drafting committee, supported by the

public, should be up and running, to write a new draft constitution

that truly caters to citizens' needs and demands, Mr Gothom argued.

News,Politics,Bangkok Post,5 July 2016.

 

In my believe if Thai people know the core value of the draft charter

which mean to make rules to stop corruption,they will accept

 the referendum.

So it depends on how the government authorities help them to understand

as we all know that they read very little and sometimes lead by the false

information.

If the draft charter has been rejected,it’s in the power of the government

to revise old version of the charter that proper to the country and the

new election should be held on the roadmap.

 

Sincerely Yours.