Plan for referendum before Songkran may go to Cabinet

A national referendum on the government's plan to amend the Constitution is expected to take place between March 12 and April 12 next year if Cabinet approves the idea on Tuesday, Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan said yesterday.

Charupong, also Pheu Thai Party leader, said Justice Minister Pol General Pracha Promnok had consulted with the secretary-general to the Cabinet Ampon Kittiampon to propose the draft of a royal decree on the referendum for Cabinet on Tuesday for approval before the resolution is passed to the Parliament.

Charupong was confident charter amendment would win at a referendum according to Article 165 of the current charter, the law on national referendums, and a 2009 law on referendums.

The government coalition's committee sees that approving votes must surpass disapproving votes for a referendum to succeed, while the turnout must reach half the number of eligible voters.

However, some opposition MPs said that to change the Constitution the government must get backing in a referendum of a majority of eligible voters - not the majority of those people who turn out to vote.

Gothom Arya, director of the Mahidol University Research Centre for Peace and a former EC member, said that while the charter allows Cabinet to consult with the Parliament on a referendum, the House Speaker, who represents the Lower House, should allow the opposition to join in specifying an appropriate question to be put in the referendum. Moreover, the consequences of the referendum - if the people approve or disapprove of changing the charter - should be clarified to the people.

"When the question is whether people agree with a charter amendment to allow a new Constitution Drafting Assembly, if the people agree, the amendment of Article 291 (on the charter-amendment process) is suspended in Parliament while this could be carried out. Or the government will discuss with the opposition and the people again whether to accept a selection process for new CDA members.

"Otherwise, if the referendum result shows that the people disagree, the consequence is that charter amendment must be according to the current charter, which says any amendment must be done article-by-article and there will be no constitution drafting assembly," Gothom said.

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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/12/16/plan-for-referendum-before-songkran-may-go-to-cabinet/