Voters told to ignore politicians

THE powers-that-be yesterday urged voters to use their own judgement and not allow politicians to |influence their decisions when casting their ballot in Sunday’s referendum on the new constitution.

Meanwhile, Meechai Ruchupan, chairman of the Constitution Drafting Commission, warned voters yesterday against basing their decisions on comments by politicians. He said doing so would be “dangerous” as politicians have conflicts of interest regarding the new constitution.

“The constitution has provisions to be enforced affecting not only the public, but also politicians. If you totally believe political parties and politicians, without respect to the content of the draft, that is dangerous. It’s because politicians also have conflicts of interest,” Meechai said.

Responding to politicians’ warnings that the constitution could cause conflicts in the future, the chief drafter said Pheu Thai and Democrat politicians could join hands in the future to amend the charter.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said people should vote how they liked. “If you like [the draft], vote yes. If you don’t, vote no,” he said.

Prawit said the government had not conducted surveys to determine the possible results of Sunday’s vote.

He reiterated that the next general election would certainly be held next year in accordance with the government’s political roadmap. 

Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda urged voters to use their own judgement when going to the poll, saying that nobody should be able to tell them how to vote.

“This is our basic right. It’s |inappropriate for anyone to tell us how to vote. I want voters to use their judgement and knowledge. This is the democratic way,” Anupong said.

The suggestions came after politicians from the largest political parties, Pheu Thai and Democrat, made comments against the draft constitution. Last week, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva became the latest political heavyweight to say he would vote against the draft.

Prawit yesterday also dismissed a rumour that military personnel had been ordered to vote for the draft charter. “That’s not true. Nobody did so. The decision should be based on personal preference,” he said.

The spokesman for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Colonel Piyapong Klinpan also denied there had been an NCPO order telling military personnel how to vote in the referendum.

“There has been no special order from the NCPO commanders [regarding this matter]. Everyone in the |military ranks is allowed to vote freely,” he said.

In a related development, Midnight University, a group of political activists and academics, yesterday issued a statement criticising the draft constitution.

The group said the draft would establish a new political system |dominated by “the privileged”, which would be against democratic principles. The statement said the process of drafting the charter had been authoritarian and done by a small group of people.

The group also said its members would vote against the additional |referendum question asking whether selected senators should be allowed to vote with elected MPs to select the new prime minister for the next five years if the new constitution takes effect. The statement said the stipulation would allow a non-MP to become prime |minister and help the junta to retain its power.

However, Suthep Thaugsuban, a politician-turned-political activist, said yesterday empowering senators to choose the prime minister would help to ensure a neutral PM and reform efforts not disrupted.

Suthep said in his daily Facebook Live broadcast he was convinced new senators would have no connections with political parties and therefore would not have conflicts of interest.