Chaturon sees no sign of public disturbances ahead of August 7 vote

People are simply expressing their opinions towards the draft, he said.

The powers that be should instead be concerned about a low voter turnout for the referendum, as people tended not to cast ballots when suppressed, the veteran politician said in a Facebook message yesterday. 

Chaturon, formerly an education minister, also questioned why opposition groups were banned as people would be able to voice their opinions for or against the draft as guaranteed by Article 7 of the referendum bill.

People were tending to pay more attention to the draft and it was unlikely they were focused on the next general election, he said, as they were sick of the junta’s promise that it would take five years to resolve the country’s turmoil. 

Chaturon called on the Election Commission to clarify whether some orders issued by the National Council for Peace and Order would still be enforceable if the charter draft were voted in as they violated the charter. 

The EC should also suggest what people could do rather than warning them, he said. 

Chaturon’s remarks came after EC member Somchai Srisuthiyakorn warned the person(s) behind a fan page on Facebook, which sold T-shirts, on Wednesday that doing so could convince people to vote a certain way in the referendum in violation of section 61 of the referendum – a crime that carries a maximum 10-year jail term. 

Somchai said although the T-shirts were sold prior to the referendum bill being enacted, those behind it could be charged if a complaint against the page was lodged. 

Meanwhile National Legislative Assembly vice president Surachai Liengboonlertchai is confident that no opposition groups will disturb its field trips to clarify the additional question in the referendum. 

He said the NLA and the Constitutional Drafting Commission had prepared the field trips. 

He said the CDC had allocated its nine groups to hold events to educate the public nationwide about the draft and the NLA would follow with its nine groups to clarify the extra question. 

It would also allocate one member per province to clarify the question at district level. He said the NLA would require less time than the CDC at the talks, as the charter draft had more key points. Question and answer sessions would conclude each event, he said. 

Surachai is confident people will understand that the NLA and the CDC will only try to inform people of the facts and not try to convince them how to vote. “At the end of the day, it depends on the people’s decision. We want them to independently decide,” he said.