THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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No new referendum if this charter draft is rejected on August 7, says Wissanu

No new referendum if this charter draft is rejected on August 7, says Wissanu

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday that he believes there will not be another referendum if this charter draft is not approved in the August 7 referendum.

Wissanu said that if the draft were to be rejected, the interim charter clearly stipulates who will be the new draft charter drafters, but does not state the procedures that will be required if this draft is rejected next month. 
“It only states that the Constitution Drafting Commission will be disbanded after the referendum results are announced,” he said. He added the government and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) would be the ones to decide on the procedures or get concerned officials to come up with solutions. 
The four major issues are who will write the new draft, how it will be drafted, the time frame required for completion and what are the procedures to follow once the draft is completed. 
“I personally believe that another referendum is not necessary, as it will take a long time and the government wants to stick with the same road map,” he said. The new charter also has to indicate when the next general election will be held. 
Wissanu said certain factors might affect the road map for holding elections next year, whether it is sooner or later. However, he stopped short of elaborating. He said that since the interim charter stipulates that ministers are not allowed to write the charter, he would not have the right to write the charter. He also told reporters not to ask if the interim charter can be amended so that he can contribute to the new charter.
Meanwhile, National Legislative Assembly president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said that if the draft charter fails to pass the referendum, then the interim constitution would have to be amended to pave the way for a new draft. 
“How the new draft is written depends on the government and the NCPO. I cannot express an opinion on this,” he said. He added that he was confident that the public understood the additional question in the referendum, though there is still enough time to explain it. 
Pornpetch added that the distribution of booklets explaining the charter draft was delayed due to transportation, though this should not really affect the campaign. 
Separately, a former Pheu Thai MP said that people in the Northeast were considering an “Isaan Return” campaign, encouraging citizens to return to their home towns to exercise their voting rights in next month’s referendum so they can determine their own future. 
 
Isaan campaign
Pheu Thai Party’s deputy secretary-general Chavalit Vichayasuth, a former party-list MP, claimed that people in Isaan had already decided how they would vote. He said he had spoken to other former Pheu Thai MPs, and learned that those who had lost their jobs and had returned to their family farms would vote in the referendum to demonstrate that they are aware of democracy and fairness. As for those who are still in Bangkok, they will be asked to visit their families on the eve of the referendum so they can cast their vote on August 7, he said. 
He added that the one of the major concerns among people in the Northeast is the provision in the draft for 250 appointed senators. The non-elected Senate will be empowered to join the elected members of the Lower House to choose a prime minister, should the additional question on that issue pass the referendum. Chavalit said locals had asked the so-called Kru Khor (Teacher C) volunteers, who have been trained to spread information about the charter in face-to-face contact with voters, why the draft stipulates such a Senate. However, the volunteers have not been able to answer this question, he pointed out. 
 
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