NLA set to vote in favour of new referendum question

The selection is different from what the charter draft stipulated as the draft only allows MPs to select the PM.
The source said it was possible that the NLA would add content in the question to make it easier for the selection of non-elected PM candidates not on the list presented by political parties.
The charter draft provisions allow for a selection of non-elected PM candidates not on the lists of political parties but they require the approval of two thirds of both the Upper and Lower houses or 500 votes out of 700 in total. Political observers believe it would be difficult to achieve such a ratio.
The source said some NLA members also want the appointed senators to have the power to grill the government in no-confidence motions.
However Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) chairman Meechai Ruchupan disapproves of the move, citing the fact that senators did not form the government.
The source said it was likely the charter draft would pass the referendum but the additional question may not pass because “it is too extreme”.
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) would not lose but only gain if the public accepts the question since the council could claim that it was the public’s desire, the source said.
The interim charter stipulates that if the people accept the additional question, the CDC must amend the charter draft to comply with voter desire.
The CDC would have to seek a Constitutional Court ruling for any charter provision that did not comply with the results of the referendum and amend the document.
Meanwhile, amending the charter draft to respond to the results of the referendum question would be possible, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said.
The NLA voted last week to propose the extra referendum question on whether the public agrees that selected senators should be allowed to vote for a prime minister to serve during the five-year transitional period following the next general election.
Critics have noted that if voters accept both the charter draft and allow selected senators to vote for the prime minister there would be a conflict, because the charter draft specifies a different process to select the next premier.
But Wissanu, one of the government’s top legal advisers, dismissed the criticism, saying people might not agree with all the provisions in the charter but they could decide whether to accept the draft as a whole.
“When there is a specific question, voters have the right to answer such a question. It is common,” Wissanu said.
Deputy Democrat Party leader Ongart Klampaiboon said amending the charter to allow senators to vote for the prime minister could be interpreted as violating the will of voters who would have voted for a charter specifying a different selection process.
“If people knew the charter could be amended, they might not vote to accept it,” he said.
He said senators handpicked by the NCPO should not have equal power to MPs, who are elected by the people.
Ongart said an additional question in the referendum would cause confusion. He also urged the NLA to carefully select the question by taking public interest into account.
Wissanu said the NLA did not have to use the additional question suggested by the National Reform Steering Assembly and could craft its own question.
“The additional question will not cause confusion but clarity,” he said.

 Election on schedule
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said an election would still be held next year if the charter draft does not pass the referendum, but added that the NCPO did not need to reveal what charter would be chosen as an alternative to the current draft.
Politicians have said the public has a right to know before the referendum which previous charter would be adopted if they rejected the draft.
NLA members expressed support for the additional referendum question presented by the NRSA.
NLA member Witawad Boonyasatid said the public had to accept that the country still faces political instability with the latest incident of politicians distributing red bowls with the signature of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
He said it was possible that the former PM could instigate further political turmoil after the election.
He said the country needed senators to help ensure peace during the five-year interim period. The appointed senators would not be given too much power – they would not have the right to grill the elected government in a no-confidence motion, but may be allowed to help select the next prime minister. The NLA would vote on Thursday what question should be used, he said.
“Other questions are not as weighty. No one has ordered the NLA to make a [particular] decision in regard to the extra referendum question,’’ he said.
NLA Kittisak Rattanawaraha said the most talked about question among NLA members was whether both Houses [in Parliament] should vote on who will be next PM. He said most members agreed that this question should be put to voters – they felt other questions such as the double-ballot electoral system and appointing an independent panel to bring about national reconciliation carry less weight.