iLaw reveals problems with EC’s book on charter draft

However, iLaw observes that the draft neither stipulates that these key reforms must be done urgently nor that people will eventually get the justice we deserve. Also, the booklet gives false information, eg, it says that local administrative bodies will have to be transparent in the way they do business – but the word “transparency” is not in the draft charter. The booklet doesn’t inform voters that the first group of senators and members of all independent public organisations will be selected by the junta, and that the constitution will be difficult to amend.
It is obvious that PM Prayut’s assertion that citizens can understand the charter draft just by reading it, without the need to thoroughly discuss it with others of similar or dissimilar views, is completely wrong, for even the learned legal experts who form the EC don’t understand key points – let alone the man in the paddies with an M6 education or less. The junta should sponsor debates by proponents and opponents from all major groups, rigorously moderated by senior political scientists from major universities to keep speakers on-topic and shed light and not heat, aired daily during prime time on all free-to-view TV channels and radio stations immediately, as we have just a week or so left.
The police have been vigorously arresting little girls and others suspected of spreading false information about the charter. They should immediately arrest and try the EC members for, at best, doing such a sloppy job, and, at worst, deliberately misleading millions of voters – especially since the booklet is the only official summary of the draft charter that they’ll ever get.
Burin Kantabutra