Politicians may be allowed to air their views
Play
FORUMS MAY BE SET UP TO DISCUSS CHARTER
THE ELECTION Commission is considering allowing forums for political parties to express their views on the draft charter, while a decision on whether to lift the ban on political gatherings is up to the National Council for Peace and Order, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam has said.
Wissanu said he had received some details from the EC already, but needed to look further into them.
He said there was still the issue of whether political parties could hold forums by themselves. But what was certain was public campaigns could not be held, just like in the lead-up to elections, he said.
Wissanu said the EC was responsible for any related activities ahead of the referendum.
He said various groups had inquired about using items such as stickers or flags to symbolise election campaigns, and the request was being looked into.
But he stressed that any activity aimed at invoking an opposition response or violence was not allowed, even via the expression of a personal opinion.
He admitted that it was unlikely there would be a sufficient amount of time ahead of the referendum to educate everyone about it, but he said the process would be done without bias.
Pravit Rattanapian, an Election commissioner, said the EC was looking at formulating regulations that would allow politicians to register ahead of the referendum so they could air their opinions.
However, he said activities aimed at inciting a public disturbance would not be allowed.
General Surasak Kanjanarat, chair of the NCPO’s reconciliation and reform committee, said at a |seminar on long-term reform work yesterday that the political temperature would become tenser as the vote on the charter by the National Reform Council draws nearer.
But he insisted that the proposal to set up the National Strategic Reform and Reconciliation Committee would result in good consequences for the country.
“People should not judge [the committee] by their feelings, but rather see its authority in detail,” he said.
Surasak said he was worried about how Thais would judge the draft charter without understanding it well.
He said it was time for people to find a new balance between moral standards and personal gain so that true reform could be brought about.
Alongkorn Ponlaboot, the NRC whip, said the NRC would meet tomorrow to review its reform proposals, and may also consider the procedures to be used for the September 6 vote on the draft.
He said the proposals included the questions to be asked in the |referendum in accordance with the interim charter.
In a related development, a Nida Poll conducted last Wednesday and Thursday asked about 1,200 people whether they wanted the NRC to vote to approve the draft charter.
Some 40 per cent of the respondents said they wanted the charter draft approved so they could vote on it in the referendum
Asked if they would vote in favour of the draft in the referendum, 40 per cent said they would because the NRC’s endorsement should guarantee the draft’s standard to some extent.
Some 28 per cent of respondents said they would abstain from voting in the referendum as they did not know its content well enough, while 15 per cent said they would vote against the draft because it tended to benefit some political groups more than the public.
