Vote on new charter likely in February; govt in office till early 2017: NLA deputy chief

Peerasak said the Constitution Drafting Committee would finish revising the charter draft in August and the printing of a massive number of draft charters would have to wait until the National Reform Council approved the document in early September.

That means it will take more time to amass enough paper to print copies of the draft charter for each of the 24 million households in Thailand, he said.

He predicted that February 6 would be the earliest possible date for the referendum. 

And if the charter is approved, elections could be organised between October and November next year and the NLA would still be around to pass the national budget for 2017.

Peerasak praised the Prayut administration for cracking down on so-called “grey businesses” – the buying of products in a foreign country and selling them more cheaply than the manufacturer’s usual distribution system – and said NLA members were gauging the public’s mood by going upcountry. 

He spoke while visiting Loei.

In a related development, NRC member Direk Thuenfang, deputy chair of the NRC’s political reform panel, said there should be only one question in the referendum – do you accept or reject the draft charter? – as more questions would confuse the public and go against the principles of a referendum.

Meanwhile, CDC spokesman General Lertrat Ratanavanich said revision of the draft charter was 80 per cent done. He said charter drafters had decided to do away with the open-list party-list system that involved the public determining their own candidates, as the proposal was controversial, confusing and required much time and money. 

The CDC, he said, would revamp the six electoral regions in order to create a greater level playing field between big and small political parties. This was in line with the CDC’s aim to ensure a political balance.