Frequently asked questions about a referendum on the charter
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AS THE country waits for a decision on whether a national referendum will be held on the new constitution, The Nation has complied a list of questions and answers to hopefully clarify any doubts people have about the issue.
Q: WHO HAS THE POWER TO MAKE THE DECISION ON WHETHER TO HOLD A NATIONAL REFERENDUM?
A: The National Council for Peace and Order and the Cabinet have that power. This is because the interim charter, which specifies the procedure for drafting and enacting the new constitution, does not state that a referendum must be held. As a result, if a referendum step has to be added to the process, the interim charter must be amended first. And the NCPO and the Cabinet are the only agencies that have power to propose amendments to the interim charter.
Q: WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO PERMIT A REFERENDUM?
A: The interim charter must be amended in accordance with its Article 46. The NCPO and the Cabinet must propose an amendment bill to the National Legislative Assembly and the NLA must consider whether to approve it within 15 days. The NLA can only approve or reject the bill. It cannot make any change to the bill unless the Cabinet and the NCPO give their consent to do so. The NLA must approve the bill with a majority vote. If the NLA approves the bill, it will be submitted for royal command.
Q: CAN ARTICLE 44 BE INVOKED TO PERMIT A REFERENDUM?
A: No, it can’t be. If the NCPO chief, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, invoked Article 44 to order a public referendum be held, it would contradict the provisions in the interim charter that specify the procedure for enacting the new constitution. It would lead to a question as to which provision should be followed as the interim charter and Article 44 have the same legal |status.
Q: WHEN WILL THE CABINET AND NCPO HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION ON WHETHER TO HOLD A REFERENDUM?
A: The decision must be made before the National Reform Council approves the draft charter or before August 6. This is because if the NRC approves the draft before the interim charter is amended to require a referendum, the process of the constitution enactment must continue. In other words, if the NRC approves the draft, it must be submitted for Royal command. If the NRC rejects the draft, everything must be restarted – a new NRC and a new Constitution Drafting Committee must be formed. Therefore, if the government wants to hold a referendum, the interim constitution must be amended before August 6.
Q: HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO HOLD A REFERENDUM?
A: If the referendum on the 2007 Charter is used as a guideline, the referendum may take three months. However, the length of time would depend on the amendment to the interim charter specifying how long it would take. The referendum process may take longer than three months.
Q: WOULD THE REFERENDUM BE HELD ON THE ENTIRE DRAFT OR ON SPECIFIC PROVISIONS?
A: It would depend on the details of the interim charter amendment. There could be several methods, such as holding a referendum on the entire draft or on specific points. Or public hearings may be held before a referendum is held.
Q: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE PUBLIC VOTE AGAINST THE DRAFT CHARTER IN A REFERENDUM?
A: That would depend on what the amendment to the interim charter specified. For example, it may require the entire process to be restarted or it may select one of the previous constitutions for promulgation as a new charter.
