The party’s caretaker deputy spokesman Anusorn Iam-saard urged the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and Election Commission (EC) to check the claim that “fake” charter drafts were circulated in Chiang Mai.

“The NCPO and the EC have full authority to take action if there is any wrongdoing. They should not publicise the issue to discredit the political sector. Sparking such issues regardless of whether it was done with intent or not is like using a low-cost evil tactic of old politics to destroy the referendum atmosphere,” he said.

He said politicians did not need to produce fake drafts because they believe voters have decided whether they would reject or accept the draft.

Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama indirectly rejected the allegation that some capitalists were behind the production of “fake” charter drafts to scuttle the referendum.

‘Who will benefit?’

He levelled five questions: Why was the fake charter draft not revealed publicly or were they just different opinions on the draft? Has the government identified the capitalists allegedly backed production of the fake drafts, as is a lot of money needed to fund such production? Why has the government not allowed supporters and opponents of the draft to debate their differences instead of publicising the fake drafts? Who would benefit from the referendum being scuttled and who has power to scuttle the referendum if not the government, which has power and all needed resources? Who would benefit from political turmoil – is Thailand in political turmoil, or is it just a rhetorical statement?

Election Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, meanwhile, said the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) had to determine if documents on charter draft distributed to voters by the New Democracy Movement (NDM) students conveyed false statements.

“The CDD has to point out which pages and which lines carry false statements and report to us. We are ready to take legal action immediately,” he said.

Not vulgar

Somchai said the EC found that the documents by the NDM were neither vulgar nor instigating, but he was not sure yet whether it they were true.

“If the EC legal affairs [people] take too long to take legal action. I will file the suit on a personal basis to prove the facts,” Somchai said.

He said an outcome would be known by Wednesday after the EC meets with the CDC to determine if the document by the NDM carries false statements.

He had not had a report about claims that some military officials in the North and Northeast persuaded voters to accept the charter draft. “If anyone finds such offences committed by anybody, please report them the EC,” he said.

The EC and CDC would also discuss cooperation to publicise content of the charter draft and how to encourage votes to express their views on the charter draft under principles – not vulgar, not inciting and not false.

The song was composed by national artist Shinakorn Krailas. It was presented in a video clip made by a television channel early this month to accompany an interview with NLA representatives.

The song conveys messages about the NLA’s additional question for the upcoming referendum, on whether they would agree to have the Senate jointly vote on a prime minister for the transitional period of the next government.

The clip – two minutes and 39 seconds long – has scenes that show ballot papers with “vote yes” being crossed.

After the video circulated among some Line chat groups, concerns were raised over whether the clip would be deemed as likely to influence voters and thus breach the referendum law, which bans influencing voters to vote in particular ways.

NLA Vice President Surachai Liengboonlertchai told The Nation that the video was produced by a TV channel and he had instructed concerned authorities not to post the video on the NLA website.

According to a source at the NLA, the video was created by the channel as part of a TV programme that NLA members participated in on July 4 to explain the additional question. The video was used as a PR campaign to draw audience attention, the source said.

Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said he had viewed the clip and personally believed it was not appropriate, as it shows the ‘Vote yes’ box being crossed twice. This, he said, was deemed to influence people and thus breached the referendum law.

So, he asked the NLA to remove the video clip and adjust it before releasing it to the public.

The NLA was also a bureaucratic organ and could be criticised for being biased for being involved in this, Somchai said. If it insisted that it had nothing to do with this, the EC would probe to see whether or not members of the Assembly were really not involved.

NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai endorsed the dismissal of Parliament deputy secretary-general Khunnawut Tantrakul for allegedly failing to protect the state’s interests based on the delay in the construction of the new Parliament.

The dismissal order, effective Friday, stated that Kunnawut delayed calling a meeting to relocate soil for the project, causing a cost overrun and building delay.

The NLA president also endorsed the dismissal of Somchart Thammasiri, a Parliament legal adviser and chairman of the Parliament Club, for approving a Bt3.4-million loan from the club to the House of Representatives’ secretariat to produce sacred items for sale. The club has yet to get back Bt2.9 million of the loan.

Both men have 30 days to appeal the decision.

Somchart said he would appeal the decision to prove his innocence, saying he had no ill intention of self-gain related to the loan. He said that the loan contract clearly said the principal would be paid back to the Parliament Club from the sale of sacred items and profits would be put into a Parliament welfare fund.

The charge under Article 61 of the Referendum Act carries penalties of up to 10 years in jail, a fine of up to Bt200,000 and a five-year suspension of a person’s electoral rights. Article 61 prohibits the dissemination of “false”, “vulgar”, “inciteful”, or “intimidating” information about the referendum in August.
Reporter Taweesak Kerdpoka and three activists from anti-junta group New Democracy Movement [NDM], Pakorn Areekul, Anucha Rungmorakot and Anan Laoked appeared at Ban Pong Police Station in Ratchaburi province yesterday to show moral support for 18 red-shirts who reported to police after receiving a summons.
The 18 have been accused of violating the junta’s ban on political gatherings after they were involved in the red-shirts’ provincial anti-fraud centres aimed at monitoring possible fraud in the referendum on the charter draft.
When the four were about to leave, police searched their car and found leaflets with information against the draft. They were taken to police for interrogation and charged.
Police did not allow them to seek bail. The four were detained and due to be taken to the provincial court, where they will be able to apply for bail, lawyer Anont Nampa said.

Meanwhile, Constitution Drafting Commission chairman Meechai Ruchupan insisted that there were no provisions in the new draft stipulating that parties have to “start from zero”.

Of 1,257 people surveyed from July 4-8, 73 per cent said “starting from zero” became a hot issue that would spark conflict, while 71 per cent said people must be cautious and not to jump to any conclusion. Some 68 per cent believed the issue was a rumour released to test public opinion, while 61 per cent said the move was a political reform solution.

Asked what the advantages were of “starting from zero”, 75 per cent said all parties would get an equal chance, as they would start at the same time, while 62 per cent said it would help each party to come up with good policies, and 60 per cent said people would be given more choice of qualified MP candidates.

For disadvantages of “starting from zero,” 82 per cent said it would create political conflict, as parties would offer money for politicians to defect to their parties, while 67 per cent said it may delay a general election and 66 per cent said it may destroy parties’ policies and stability.

Some 38 per cent of total respondents believed that “starting from zero” would not solve problems in politics because politicians pay attention to vested interest not public interest, while 29 per cent believed it could solve problems by dissolving political camps, old powers and reforming politics. Just under a quarter – 22 per cent – said it could not solve problems because politicians were the same groups of people, and 8.8 per cent said it could solve a lot of problems because parties have to have policies and work more cautiously as new faces enter the public arena.

Meanwhile, results of a Super Poll released yesterday showed that eligible voters in 15 provinces were more confident in the government and National Council for Peace and Order than politicians.

A total of 5,459 voters in Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Ratchasima, Mukdahan, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Pathum Thani, Lop Buri, Nakhon Pathom, Chon Buri, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla and Narathiwat took part in the survey conducted from June 15 to July 8.

Some 73 per cent said the government and the council contributed to peace and happiness in the country, while 64 per cent said they help block politicians from amassing vested interests from taxpayers’ money, 62 per cent said they helped stop human trafficking and trade in wildlife, 61 per cent said they reclaimed forests and helped preserve natural resources and the environment, 59 per cent said they were accepted by China, India, Russia, Japan and the United States, and 48 per cent said they solve corruption.

Around 82 per cent said they trust the government and the council more than politicians, while 17 per cent said they trusted politicians more than the government and the NCPO.

Democrat Party deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon said he suspected Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha may have information that caused him to refuse to relax his ban on political activity. But he said political movement by students had nothing to do with political parties.

He urged the PM to allow political parties to hold meetings, which he said would benefit development of the country’s democracy.

The poll found that 77.7 per cent of the 1,733 respondents in all four regions of the country plan to cast their ballots.

More than 10 per cent do not intend to vote and the remaining 11.9 per cent are undecided, according to results of the survey released yesterday.

The survey was conducted by Bangkok University’s Research Centre last week, one month before the national vote.

When asked how they would vote, 43.6 per cent said they would vote for the draft charter, 6.6 per cent would vote against it, and 13 per cent would abstain. However, 36.8 per cent of the respondents are undecided.

Meanwhile, the New Democracy Movement yesterday said it would file a malfeasance suit against officials for arresting their members while they were campaigning in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district about casting ballots in the referendum.

Led by Rangsiman Rome at Thammasat University, NDM announced its plan when its activities on the charter draft were stopped by the authorities.

Rangsiman said the group would file the suit at Bang Sao Thong Police Station against administrative and military officials, accusing them of violating Article 157 of the Criminal Code for allegedly abusing their authority. He alleged the arrests were illegal and a violation of human rights.

He also called on the government to improve the quality of food in prison and review measures relating to the detention of suspects when they appeared in court.

He said NDM members were chained at the ankles when they were brought to the court. “They were ill-treated as if they were not human,” he said.

Rakchart Wongathichart, another NDM member, denied that the group had distorted information in the charter draft, saying it only used the cover of the charter draft as the cover of their document. Rakchart insisted that the group intended to present different views and did not distort the charter draft. A total of 10,000 copies of the documents written by the group were printed. Internet users can download the information via a website.

Rakchart urged officials to stop intimidating the group and allow it to distribute the documents to voters so that they had well-rounded information before voting in the referendum.

“I admitted that our documents may carry mistakes but it is not a fake charter draft as alleged by the Constitution Drafting Commission,” he said.

Pakorn Areekul, an NDM member, said he had submitted his group’s charter draft documents to CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan on May 18 during the training of charter draft specialists at Miracle Grand Hotel, but Meechai accused his group of discrediting the CDC.

He denied that his group was funded by capitalists, saying the money they used in printing the documents were public donations received since the group started campaigning on February 29. He said the group received more than Bt500,000 in donations.

He said it spent not more than Bt50,000 on printing the documents. The group would reveal details of how they spend public donations through Facebook and a website.

The NDM plans to meet Pheu Thai leader Yingluck Shinawatra and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva this month to get their opinions about the charter draft and solutions for the country’s problems.

Colonel Piyapong Klinpan, the National Council for Peace and Order’s Public Relation Centre deputy chief, said the Election Commission and the CDC had a duty to check the finances of the NDM.

He said the NCPO’s legal department was also checking where NDM had printed the documents, whether the content was wrong, and who supported the group. He said the council was ready to take legal action against the NDM if it were found to have committed any offences.

He said security officials were monitoring the group to determine if it had infiltrated other universities.

“This group of students stage campaigns with the backing of politicians. Their actions cannot instigate public sentiment because the majority of students are not convinced [about their actions]. If they continue their activities, people would finally get fed up with them and lose interest,” he said.

NCPO spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvari said the council found that the NDM was linked with political activists such as Sombat Boonngam-anong, the leader of the Red Sunday group, as they had pictures taken together and posted on Facebook. “Supporting the NDM can be done in different ways, not just financial support. If we find that the support is beyond the legal boundary, we will take action,” he said.