A referendum on the draft charter is necessary and would be worth the time and investment, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam says.
"There's a saying about the price of democracy. If we want democracy, we have to pay. We can't afford to be stingy," he said, in apparent response to criticism of the 3 billion baht cost of a referendum.
Mr Wissanu said he supports holding a referendum to decide the fate of the draft charter, which has drawn criticism from several stakeholders including major political parties and some members of the National Reform Council, who will have the final say in whether the draft proceeds to a referendum.
"People should not be sceptical about the referendum, which involves amending the interim charter and preparing the budget for it," he said.
The interim charter clearly showed everything is moving toward the direction of a referendum. Nothing stands in the way of one being held unless the NRC votes to reject the draft charter first.
Mr Wissanu said he realises a referendum cannot be rushed even though some are worried it will prolong the National Council for Peace and Order's grip on power. He acknowledged that "dusting off and improving" one of the previous charters − which has previously been proposed as an option − may make more sense than holding a referendum.
However, Mr Wissanu said the option was also bound to run into opposition as a committee would have to be appointed to the task.
He said some people do not like the idea of having a handful of people designing the country's supreme law.
Meanwhile, National Legislative Assembly president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said a referendum was the best way to gauge public confidence in the draft charter.
If the draft charter was voted down in a referendum, the next challenge would be to produce another draft which would be more satisfactory to the people, he said.
The referendum should contain questions beyond whether people will simply accept the draft charter.
It must allow the government to truly understand people's expectations.
Despite his personal support for the referendum, Mr Pornpetch said even a charter which passes a referendum may not survive for long.
He was referring to the previous 2007 charter which was accepted in a referendum only to be abrogated when the NCPO seized power last year.
A referendum on the draft charter is necessary and would be worth the time and investment, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam says."There's a saying about the price of democracy. If we want democracy, we have to pay. We can't afford to be stingy," he said, in apparent response to criticism of the 3 billion baht cost of a referendum.Mr Wissanu said he supports holding a referendum to decide the fate of the draft charter, which has drawn criticism from several stakeholders including major political parties and some members of the National Reform Council, who will have the final say in whether the draft proceeds to a referendum. "People should not be sceptical about the referendum, which involves amending the interim charter and preparing the budget for it," he said. The interim charter clearly showed everything is moving toward the direction of a referendum. Nothing stands in the way of one being held unless the NRC votes to reject the draft charter first. Mr Wissanu said he realises a referendum cannot be rushed even though some are worried it will prolong the National Council for Peace and Order's grip on power. He acknowledged that "dusting off and improving" one of the previous charters − which has previously been proposed as an option − may make more sense than holding a referendum.However, Mr Wissanu said the option was also bound to run into opposition as a committee would have to be appointed to the task.He said some people do not like the idea of having a handful of people designing the country's supreme law. Meanwhile, National Legislative Assembly president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said a referendum was the best way to gauge public confidence in the draft charter. If the draft charter was voted down in a referendum, the next challenge would be to produce another draft which would be more satisfactory to the people, he said. The referendum should contain questions beyond whether people will simply accept the draft charter.It must allow the government to truly understand people's expectations.Despite his personal support for the referendum, Mr Pornpetch said even a charter which passes a referendum may not survive for long.He was referring to the previous 2007 charter which was accepted in a referendum only to be abrogated when the NCPO seized power last year.
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