NRC members may propose additional referendum questions

Alongkorn Ponlaboot said the vote on the draft would be conducted openly: “Each NRC member would be called upon to cast his or her vote orally.” 

No further discussions or explanations regarding either the draft or the vote would be permitted, he said after the NRC whip meeting yesterday. 

Alongkorn also explained that if the charter passes the reform council, the NRC members would discuss whether or not to ask an additional question in the national referendum. Unless the council members disagree, they would also deliberate on what the question would be, he said.

Two questions have so far been proposed by four members, Alongkorn said. 

Paiboon Nititawan and Voravit Srianandraksa proposed a question on a two-year “reform” period before an election, while Prasarn Marukkapitak and Anek Laothamatas proposed a question on the provision of a mechanism for conflict prevention after the next election.

Alongkorn said both the draft charter and the extra referendum question would be submitted to the Cabinet if the NRC members vote to approve the draft. Then, the draft would be forwarded to the Election Commission for further determination of the regulations, process, date and time of the referendum. He noted that those considerations would also have to be approved by the National Legislative Assembly.

However, if the NRC votes down the charter, he said, it would be dissolved at midnight of the same day.

Alongkorn said the result of the NRC vote would be revealed about an hour after the start of Sunday’s voting process.

In a related development, he revealed that the Constitution Drafting Committee had submitted a synopsis of the draft to the NRC on Tuesday to help the council members in their deliberations.

Noting that Udom Fuangfung and some other NRC members had proposed that the council urge the Cabinet to ask for the Constitution Court’s judgement on whether the draft was complete while lacking a preface, he said the whip resolved that according to Article 37 of the 2014 interim charter, the CDC reserved the right to rule whether the draft is complete. 

Thus, the NRC whip could not proceed with the request of those members, he said.

Meanwhile, CDC chairman Borwornsak Uwanno said that technically the 21 CDC members who are also members of the NRC should be able to vote on the draft, according to the 2014 interim charter. He pointed out that the drafters of the 1997 and the 2007 Constitutions were permitted to take part in a similar vote. He added that he did not see it as a conflict of interest.

He also pointed out that the NRC vote was not necessarily the end of the process. If the council approves the draft, it will still need public endorsement through the referendum. 

Election Commission Boonsong Noisopon said yesterday that people would be allowed to express their opinions for and against the draft charter ahead of the referendum, but could not campaign or hold gatherings to persuade others on the issue.

The interim charter indicates punishment for people who obstruct others from voting, people who destroy ballot papers or create turmoil at polling stations, and people who buy votes.

Boonsong said the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), and not the EC, had the authority to decide on other criminal offences or violations against the NCPO orders, such as holding political gatherings or political rallies.

“If people lay siege to a polling station, the EC can suspend the voting at that stations. If the vote counts show that the remaining votes would not change the result at that station, there would be no re-vote,” he said.