Referendum: The dos and don’ts, and the whys and hows
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Confused about what you can and cannot do for the upcoming referendum on the constitution draft? You aren’t alone. In fact, you belong to the majority of people, who aren’t quite sure what the rules are - or aren’t.
What’s all the fuss about? Nobody is clear why the powers-that-be seem so concerned about people taking issue with some of the clauses in the charter draft. After all, once you decide to have a referendum, you are simply asking the people to say whether or not they accept the proposed ground rules.
A total of eight “Don’ts” and six “Dos” have been declared by the Election Commission. That shows how paranoid the officials are about the draft being rejected.
The six Dos aren’t that earthshaking. In fact, we don’t need the EC to tell us that it’s permissible to:
1. Express your opinions in a polite way.
2. Visit websites or read newspapers or online media to “study and research” information about the draft to gain a “complete understanding” upon which to base your decision.
3. Express your opinions based on clear, unambiguous information so that those listening won’t think you are distorting the facts.
4. Present or refer to academic materials, but make sure to check the sources and verify the authenticity of the work.
5. Be interviewed by the media, as long as you support your opinions (for or against) with reasoning.
6. Present your own opinion via websites or electronic media.
The eight Don’ts are even more revealing:
1. In media interviews, don’t use falsehoods – or present your opinions in a manner that is “abrasive, violent, rude, inciting or intimidating”.
2. The same rules apply for posting opinions on the electronic media.
3. Neither can you send signals or reveal signs in that same manner.
4. Seminars or conferences on the draft cannot be organised without the participation of official agencies, educational institutions or media organisations – and they must not be aimed at political incitement.
5. Don’t seek to persuade others through shirts, badges or ribbons with symbols or messages that promote one side of the argument or the other – or the selling or distribution of such items in ways that lead to political mobilisation.
6. Likewise, distributing documents or leaflets with the same purpose of persuasion is banned.
7. Media reporting or airing of programmes leading to incitement or chaos in society are also prohibited.
8. Campaigning or inciting others to vote one way or the other, or to block voting, is also illegal.
These 16 points are supposed to clear things up for the almost 50 million eligible voters. But they have probably raised more questions than answers.
And if that isn’t puzzling enough, things will get more curious still when the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) start sending out “volunteers” to explain the content of the charter draft to the people all over the country.
These two bodies have reportedly agreed to dispatch five “Teacher A” democracy volunteers to each province, and assign “Teacher B” volunteers at the district level. At the village level, a “door-knock” operation will be launched to explain to all voters what this referendum is all about.
There’s no doubt it will be an uphill task. Training sessions for the “volunteers” will be short and hurried. Screening applicants will be a major challenge. A big doubt concerns the volunteers’ ability to answer all the questions of grass-roots people trying to understand the complicated process.
Rumours that the referendum might not take place after all have been branded a “false, malicious story” by authorities.
But given the confusion, you can’t blame the rumour-mongers. The whole process has been made so intertwined, entangled and complicated at every turn, that some have begun to suspect it is, at bottom, a ploy to make democracy look so absolutely incomprehensible and inaccessible that the common people give it all up.
