Media to distribute draft charter content

He said that without this move, members of the media that report on the charter content might not be protected by law. He also said the media should ensure that the content is reported upon without any distortion, as that might lead to social conflict. 

Udom added that the CDC would also cooperate with the Election Commission (EC) to set guidelines on allocating broadcast time for the charter draft. 

He reported that EC member Somchai Srisuthiyakorn had earlier said that the content would be broadcast 10 times, two of which will be overseen by the CDC, one by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the rest by the EC. 

However, Udom explained that the CDC would not disseminate the charter-draft content in a debate format and that the law did not require it to work with the EC on this matter. 

Supachai Yawaprapat, chairman of the CDC’s committee on charter content, said the commission would hand over leaflets detailing the essence of the charter draft to the EC to distribute among the public tomorrow. 

He said the commission also wanted to come up with a song encouraging the public to cast their ballot in the referendum. 

“We have approached some artists to write the song for us,” he said.

Krissada Bunrat, permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, said the ministry would have each province set up a public relations centre to circulate content of the draft at provincial and district levels. He said five teachers or trainers selected in each province would be trained on how best to publicise the draft content. 

He said this training at the provincial level would be held on May 18 and 19, and at the district level on May 30 to June 10. As many as 8,780 people in 878 districts will undergo training.

Training at the village level will run from June 11 to 30 and will involve 321,964 people. 

Separately, Sakul Suesongtham, director of the People’s Network for Elections (PNet), said the agency would observe the referendum. 

Though Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has banned foreign agencies and non-governmental organisations from observing the referendum, scheduled for August 7, the agency believes having observers for the event would be beneficial for the country. 

He said his agency might seek permission from the EC to observe, either officially or unofficially, the casting of ballots at the referendum. 

CDC member Prapan Naikowit said that while he was working at the EC, he did not see any regulations banning agencies from observing the referendum held for the 2007 Constitution.