ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/EC-denies-referendum-law-violates-charter-30286704.html

The Hindu deity Hanuman is being used as a mascot for the charter referendum campaign, as the monkey god |represents this year’s Chinese zodiac but also symbolises progress. The Election Commission, which yesterday kicked off the campaign, says voters exe

ELECTION Commission (EC) President Supachai Somcharoen said yesterday that he believes the referendum laws clauses prohibiting the spreading of false, rude, provocative or intimidating anti-draft charter messages did not violate the interim charter as claimed by a group of scholars.

He reasoned the law had been carefully crafted by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and that it should not pose a problem. If the Ombudsman considers otherwise, then it would be up to the Constitutional Court to decide, he added.

This development came as the Ombudsman agreed to look into the scholars’ petition asking if Article 61 of the recently implemented referendum law contradicted the charter, which guarantees freedom of expression.

Supachai added that the EC’s legal department was preparing an explanation letter, which will be submitted to the Ombudsman by next week.

The EC yesterday also resolved to have six leading state TV stations, namely channels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and ThaiPBS, broadcast constitution-and-referendum-related shows from 5.30pm to 6pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. The 19 other digital television channels could either link up with the broadcast of the six channels or rerun the shows between 6.30pm and 10.30pm on the same day, Election Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said yesterday after meeting with representatives of the television channels.

The EC had previously proposed that the broadcast be fixed at 6.20pm to 6.50pm, but the digital TV association asked the agency to revise its plan. They reasoned that some viewers would miss the show if it is run on all channels simultaneously.

The programme is expected to be comprised of 13 episodes and be broadcast from June 27 onwards. Somchai said the channels were free to produce the content as they saw appropriate, adding that they should not be afraid that the content will violate the law.

For instance, he said, they could have both supporters and opponents get together to discuss the draft charter.

“Programmes [concerning the charter and the referendum] already being broadcast are very intense,” he said.

He also warned that producers should ensure the programme does not contain any false, rude or provocative messages. Some charter drafters will also be featured in the series, he said.

The EC yesterday launched an official event to kick off the referendum, which is scheduled to be held on August 7. The first batch of 100,000 packages of the charter draft has been sent to the NLA and Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) for initial dissemination. Some 900,000 other copies will be ready for distribution to households by late next month. Each package comprises the full version of the draft, two summaries, plus an explanation of the additional question added to the referendum by the NLA.

Separately, the EC has come up with songs campaigning for the referendum, which will be sung in regional dialects by popular artists Liew Ajareeya, Kong Huayrai, Paowalee and Bao Wee. The songs call on voters to exercise their rights and not fall prey to those trying to influence their vote.

Another gimmick featured in this year’s referendum is the Hindu deity Hanuman, which is supposed to symbolise an independent mind that will help lead the country towards improvement. Supachai said the agency was expecting an 80-per-cent turnout at the referendum.

Meanwhile, CDC chief Meechai Ruchupan said the commission would distribute the charter’s copies to its “teachers A and B” first. The CDC is also gathering cases concerning the distortion of facts of the charter and has already forwarded some to the EC for consideration.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, meanwhile, said the government was interested in holding a forum for dialogues like the one organised by the EC for political parties last week. He said he was pleased by the friendly atmosphere generated by the forum.

He also said the red-shirt movement can set up anti-fraud units in relation to the referendum, but they have to take care they don’t violate the law themselves or they too could face charges.