Thai gov't ready to explain draft charter to public

Thai Constitution Drafting Commission(CDC) Tuesday said that the charter drafters are preparing to educate the public about the charter draft and setting up a team to man a call center to disseminate information.

CDC Chairman Meechai Ruchupan stated the CDC has been busy tasked with planning nationwide trips to explain key information contained in the draft charter and the referendum question, as well as to prepare documents and train selected volunteers to help as many people as possible fully understand the draft charter.

He said the volunteers must be reliable, neutral and articulate. They will knock on the people's doors across the country in July while a public referendum on the draft charter is scheduled for Aug. 7.

On Aug. 7, voters will make their decisions on two questions. The first is whether you are for or against the charter draft. The second is whether you agree that unelected senators should be empowered to join elected members of parliament in voting to select the prime minister.

Surachai Liengboonlertchai, vice president of Thai National Legislative Assembly (NLA) told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that a total of 127 NLA members have already confirmed their participation in the regional visits and they will take part in a training session, scheduled for May 13, to make sure all will be working towards the same goal.

Surachai stressed that a fair and effective referendum can only occur if voters receive adequate information on both the draft content and the additional question on selecting a PM.

"Information dissemination is even more important than holding an election. Only when voters are equipped with right information and basis knowledge of democracy will they avoid swaying their decisions in an unhealthy way through publicizing of different political parties and make informed choices in the ballot booths," said Surachai. Endit