EC plan to televise forums, debates

The forums would be held 13 times – every Monday and Wednesday from the first designated date to the last day – with 30 minutes per episode.

The forums would be given to the Constitution Drafting Commission to explain the charter draft content, the National Legislative Assembly to explain its additional question, the EC itself to explain referendum procedures, and invited guests to debates without censorship. 

The question of who would be invited to join the forum debates would be discussed further at an EC meeting on May 25, Somchai said.

The EC also kicked off its first training session yesterday for “Teacher A or Master Trainers” to help disseminate information about the referendum in August.

EC member Pravich Rattanapian, who presided over the opening for the session, said that during the lead-up to the referendum people who voice opinions about the draft should be aware of their “intention” and “action”, as it may be deemed as breaching the Referendum Act. 

The list of “six do’s and eight don’ts” that the EC has issued were just examples, he said. People could not do things that may violate the act, he said. 

In the training, EC executives and master trainers were educated on steps and processes in the referendum. After, “Teacher A’s” will be assessed before they train “Teacher B’s” – other volunteers from EC provincial offices, Pravich said. 

Teacher Bs will then forward content about the draft charter to 74,240 volunteers from democracy development centres at district levels. 

“Our mission is to push people to cast their votes. In the 2007 referendum, voter turnout was at 57 per cent, but this year we expect 80 per cent,” he said. Pravich is confident that the EC can achieve its goal with its extensive experience, as they have held many elections already.