21 May 2015
The Election Commission of Thailand has been entrusted with arranging a
national referendum on the draft constitution of Thailand.
The decision was made by a joint meeting of the Cabinet and the National
Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), chaired by Prime Minister General Prayut
Chan-o-cha on 19 May 2015.
The meeting agreed that the 2014 Interim Constitution be amended to allow
the organizing of the national referendum in the next step. After the passage of
the draft constitution, the national referendum would take place immediately.
The Prime Minister said that the amendment to the Interim Constitution had been
proposed by the National Reform Council. The national referendum would also
delay the timeframe of the roadmap set earlier for a general election.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said that the amendment to the
Interim Constitution is likely to be carried out in June. The Cabinet and NCPO
would propose that the National Reform Council vote to amend the Interim
Constitution within 15 days. The Election Commission of Thailand will have to
print the draft constitution for 47 million eligible voters to consider.
Mr. Wissanu said that the national referendum is expected to take place in
January 2016. After the referendum, about four months will be needed for the
process of drafting organic laws. Then a general election will be held within 90
days after the announcement of the organic laws.
The upcoming national referendum on the constitution will be the second of
its kind in Thai history. The first referendum took place on 19 August 2007 for
the 18th constitution of Thailand. It went smoothly in all parts of the country.
Official results, announced on the following day by the Election Commission of
Thailand, showed that out of 45 million eligible voters, 25.9 million cast their
ballots on the referendum day. A total of 57.8 percent of voters chose to
support the new charter, while 42.2 percent voted against it.
At the joint meeting of the Cabinet and NCPO on 19 May 2015, both sides
also discussed efforts to continue to move the country toward stability,
prosperity, and sustainability. Their joint efforts aim to maintain internal
security and prevent conflicts. They also seek to mobilize the national
administration for the maximum benefit of the people, plan for reform in the
future, and amend laws to facilitate national administration.
Mr. Wissanu explained to the meeting that Section 44 of the Interim
Constitution was recently used to solve problems concerning Thailand’s civil
aviation industry, in order to comply with the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) standards, as well as illegal, unreported, and unregulated
(IUU) fishing. It aims to complete certain tasks that would normally take
considerable time to implement.
He reaffirmed that Section 44 had not been used in terms of judicial power,
which is exercised through the courts.
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