No polls till 2017 if draft charter voted down

No polls till 2017 if draft charter voted down

The next general election may be delayed until as long as April 2017 if the draft constitution is voted down by the National Reform Council, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Monday.

Mr Wissanu said this in response to Wanchai Sornsiri's call for NRC members to vote against the draft constitution and allow the country to undergo complete reform.

He said Mr Wanchai, as an NRC member, had the right to voice his opinion.

Mr Wissanu said the government had adhered to its road map.  If everything went as planned there would be an election in September 2016.

But if the draft charter was not passed by the NRC, a new 20-member constitution drafting committee would have to be set up and would take six months to finish its work. 

Under this scenario, there would then be a public referendum in four months.  If the new draft charter was approved, it would take another six months to finish the constitution's supplementary, or organic, laws.  An election would subsequently be held in three months, which might be in April 2017, said Mr Wissanu.

Asked about the effect of the launch of the People's Democratic Reform Committee Foundation by former PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban after leaving the monkhood, Mr Wissanu said he personally did not see it as putting pressure on the government.

However, it might pressure the NRC in its vote on the draft constitution, because the PDRC Foundation upholds the PDRC's reforms-before-elections standpoint, he said.

Mr Wissanu said that regardless of what was happening the government was taking a firm stand on its road map.

Akanat Prompan, secretary of the PDRC Foundation, confirmed on Monday the foundation is calling for the people to protect the country's best interests and push for reforms.

However, the foundation's platform had been misrepresented to confuse the people into believing it would affect the government's road map and force a delay in the election, he said.

"We only ask that all concerned finish their homework within the set time-frames," Mr Akanat said.

He said political reform must be for the people's best interests and not be warped to enable anyone to buy political parties, MPs and votes.

Political parties must truly belong to the people, not to any families or interest groups. The people must be given the power to take part in local administration, which should respond quickly to their needs.

The police force must also be restructured to ensure that the people can rely on police for help, he said.

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