Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ruled out the possibility of using special powers under Section 44 to postpone the Aug 7 referendum on the draft constitution if the Constitutional Court accepts a request for legal interpretation, and rules the referendum law goes against the interim charter's clause on freedom and rights.
Gen Prayut said it is up to the court to decide on the matter, and if the court rules that the law is not in line with the interim charter, the referendum will have to be deferred. "If the referendum is to be postponed, don't blame me. Just ask the court," Gen Prayut said, adding that he has to wait for a court ruling before deciding to take any action.
The Office of the Ombudsman voted unanimously on Wednesday to petition the Constitutional Court to rule on whether the Referendum Act's Section 61 goes against the interim charter's clause on freedom of expression. The move followed a complaint filed by the Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw) group and academics last month, stating that certain paragraphs of the law's Section 61 restricted the people's right to exercise their freedom of expression ahead of the referendum.
Rights and freedoms are guaranteed by Section 4 of the interim charter.
Paragraph 2 of Section 61 says that anyone who disseminates in newspapers, radio and TV broadcasts, electronic media as well as other channels, messages, pictures, and sounds that are "inconsistent with the truth" or delivered in a violent, aggressive, rude, provocative or threatening manner that could "prevent a voter from casting a ballot... shall be considered as disrupting the referendum". The law says an offender faces a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 200,000 baht.
However, Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) chairman Meechai Ruchupan said he believed the referendum is unlikely to be derailed by the matter.
This is because the interim charter also stipulates the time frame for the referendum, and requires the Election Commission (EC) to announce the date for the referendum anywhere from 90 to 120 days from when the CDC hands the summary of the final draft charter to the EC. The draft was forwarded to the EC on April 29 and the date for the referendum was set for Aug 7.
If the referendum is to be postponed, it can only be deferred by two to three days to remain within the 120-day timeframe, Mr Meechai said. However, he said the interim charter could be amended to accommodate any change to the referendum schedule. Mr Meechai also speculated that the Constitutional Court may consider the petition after the August referendum is held.
On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the Ombudsman wanted the Constitutional Court to clarify the terms "violent, aggressive and rude" that appear in Section 61.
If the court rules that any of these terms or all of them go against the interim charter's clause on rights and freedoms, they could be only removed from the referendum law by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA). Therefore, the court ruling will not affect the Aug 7 referendum schedule whichever way the ruling will be delivered, Mr Wissanu said. NLA president Pornpetch Wichicholchai said yesterday that the NLA is ready to amend the referendum law if the court rules that Section 61 goes against the interim charter.
