Quote:By Post reporters


The general election, earlier reported likely to be brought forward to November from its tentative date in December, could now be delayed until next year, said Council for National Security (CNS) chief Sonthi Boonyaratkalin. Gen Sonthi said this following a meeting with National Legislative Assembly (NLA) president Meechai Ruchupan.

Gen Sonthi said Mr Meechai fears the schedule is too tight and the polls may not take place as planned.

''I asked Mr Meechai if it is possible to hold the election this year. He told me it is hard to say when looking at the schedule. He is not sure if the elections can take place even in December.''

The government expects the general election to be held this year. Recently, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont suggested the election could be as early as November.

The latest twist from the CNS chief yesterday drew mixed reactions.

Democrat chief adviser Chuan Leekpai said the Election Commission (EC) should not be rushed into doing its job.

''The most important question is whether we are ready [for elections]. We have to campaign for a fair and clean election. The coup was brought about by a corruption-induced crisis and by politicians who came to power through dirty elections,'' he said.

Mr Chuan's view was echoed by Campaign for Popular Democracy secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila, who called for an election calendar and a detailed referendum process.

''I think the government, the CNS, the NLA, the Constitution Drafting Assembly [CDA] and the Election Commission should sit down and work out the election calendar and make it a public commitment,'' Mr Suriyasai said, but added he did not believe the election should be postponed until next year.

A source said the meeting between Gen Sonthi and Mr Meechai also touched on a contingency plan in case the draft charter is rejected in the referendum.

Concerns mounted in some quarters that overt and covert campaigns are under way to persuade the public to vote 'no' on the draft constitution.

''I am concerned about the current atmosphere. There are many groups campaigning against the charter especially anti-coup demonstrators,'' said CDA member Seri Suwanpanont.

Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) chairman Prasong Soonsiri said influential people in the provinces are campaigning to defeat the draft charter.

He urged opponents to explain to the public why they wish to quash the draft.

Gen Sonthi said yesterday the Internal Security Operations Command has been assigned to work with provincial governors to thwart attempts to ''persuade'' the public to reject the charter.

CDC spokesman Thongthong Chantarangsu said yesterday three key organic laws _ on elections, political parties and the EC _ are being drafted in parallel with drafting the charter.

He said the three laws governing elections, political parties, and the EC, must be completed by Aug 20. Only when the laws are enacted and published in the Royal Gazette can the general and Senate elections be called, he said.

The CDA yesterday endorsed an article that says a general election will be organised within 90 days, and a Senate election within 150 days, of the three key organic laws being published in the Royal Gazette.

It also deliberated on Article 289 regarding the tenure of members of independent agencies.

CDA member Chirmsak Pinthong said the tenure of the current ombudsman should cease when the previous 1997 constitution was abrogated.

CDC member Sriracha Charoenpanich argued the coup-makers' announcement No. 14 provides for the ombudsman law to remain in force, thus enabling the ombudsman to continue his term.

The assembly finally agreed that the ombudsman will be allowed to continue his full six-year tenure.

Quote:Thai elections could be delayed to 2008 - coup(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-07-01 16:10

BANGKOK - Thailand's post-coup general election could be pushed back until early 2008 as legal experts fear a new constitution and other laws will not be finished as planned, Army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin said on Sunday. Sonthi, who ousted Thaksin Shinawatra's government in a bloodless coup last year, told reporters he would meet Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to discuss possibly postponing the elections, originally set for end-2007, until a later date.

"Several academics have voiced their concern that the general election could not be held as planned, so I will bring this to discuss with the prime minister," Sonthi said.

It remains a distinct possibility that the charter being drawn up to replace the 1997 "People's Constitution" torn up in last September's military coup would be rejected in a plebiscite, analysts say.

Thaksin, currently living in exile, and his disbanded Thai Rak Thai party are expected to campaign vigorously against it.

They are likely to be joined by a variety of groups, ranging from those who want Buddhism, the faith of 90 percent of Thais, to become the state religion to human rights campaigners who say some clauses in the new charter are affronts to democracy and freedom.

Surayud said in a television interview on Saturday that elections should be held between November 25 and December 23, the dates he has set, in order for the country to regain investors' confidence.

But Sonthi told reporters on Saturday the president of the army-appointed parliament had told him passage of the new charter and other related laws would take longer than expected, and so the election would have to be delayed.

Other army-back lawmakers said a fierce election campaign ahead of 80th birthday celebrations for the revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, on December 5 would not be "appropriate".

Sonthi's comments prompted criticism from anti-coup activists that the coup leaders were trying to cling on to power, a charge Sonthi denied on Sunday.

At face value, the coup stemmed from middle-class street protests in 2006 against Thaksin's autocratic style and huge personal wealth, which his opponents say he wielded unfairly to secure unassailable support from the rural masses.

But analysts say it was as much about a royalist, military and business elite removing a nouveau riche, ethnic Chinese businessman who had encroached too far on their traditional turf.

Quote:Battle for the charter

BangkokPost.com, Agencies

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont ordered top bureaucrats on Monday to help promote the draft constitution, and the defence minister said a vote against the charter could delay the general elections.

At present, it appears the army-direct draft charter will be defeated when it is put to a national referendum in August.

"I have instructed leaders of every ministry to help educate the people on the draft charter, which will be passed by the Charter Drafting Council on July 6," Gen Surayud said after a meeting with senior bureaucrats of 19 ministries.

"They have to be ready for the referendum," he said.

When asked about reports that there are movements to kill the draft constitution, Defence Minister Boonrawd said he wants people to accept the constitution draft in order to move forward to the general election.

The constitution can be amended later, after the election, he added. This is now the general line - to vote for the constitution no matter what, and trust the next government to amend it.

If voters reject the draft constitution, the military and government have 30 days to pick one of the nation's past 17 constitutions to stand in, according to a clause in the interim charter promulgated after the Sept 19 coup.

But the military has invested a lot in having a pro-junta committee write an army-friendly constitution, and it would be a setback for Council for National Security chief Sonthi Boonyaratkalin if the country rejects the draft.

The now-defunct Thai Rak Thai party of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to campaign for a "no" vote in the plebiscite set for Aug 19.

Chaturon Chaisaeng, head of the Thai Rak Thai group, said on Monday that voters were entitled to oppose a charter they viewed undemocratic.

"We will be telling the public that if they feel the draft charter is undemocratic, they must reject it," Mr Chaturon said.

The government has begun spending public money heavily on a campaign to support the draft charter.

In addition, Gen Sonthi said the election scheduled for November or December might have to be posponed until next year.

The hand-picked chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), Squadron Leader Prasong Soonsiri, said that "some old-power groups" are trying to kill the draft charter, by encouraging people to vote against it.

He said local administration organisations nationwide must be ordered to "help to explain the benefits of new constitution to people in their respective areas," to ensure the referendum result approves the constitution.

If he thinks "The constitution can be amended later, after the election" why bother to write a new one, just amend the 97 constitution. and he could have had an election months ago. The simple answer is the military wants to gain the control they have lost since the last coup. If the thai people reject the referendum, en mass, even with the threat from the military of a slowed election process, the people of Thailand will be sending a strong message that it's time for the military to protect the country and to stay out of politics in the future.

Quote:Chalit: '97 charter if you vote no to draft
Says anti-coup activistsshould stop veto drive

POST REPORTERS

The abrogated 1997 constitution will be adopted as the country's new constitution if the public votes down the draft charter in the upcoming referendum, Council for National Security (CNS) deputy chief Chalit Phukphasuk said yesterday.

However, ACM Chalit believed the draft charter would gain public approval by the time the referendum takes place. The constitution referendum is tentatively scheduled for Aug 19.

He said the draft charter, which is being scrutinised by the Constitution Drafting Assembly, is quite comprehensive and much of its content modelled on the 1997 charter _ abrogated by the coup-makers on Sept 19.

ACM Chalit said anti-coup activists should stop their campaign calling on the public to vote ''no'' to the draft charter so that the country could quickly return to democracy.

CNS chairman Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said if the draft charter is rejected in the referendum, the CNS and the government would work together to choose one of the previous constitutions and adapt it as the new charter within 30 days _ as stipulated by Article 32 of the 2006 interim constitution.

The CDA and networks of anti-coup activists have resorted to using media publicity to drum up public support for their conflicting agendas.

Last week, the CDA took out full-page advertisements in the Matichon newspaper, persuading voters to go to the referendum and endorse the draft.

The anti-coup activists, led by the September 19 Network Against the Coup, yesterday placed a full-page advertisement in the same newspaper, calling on the public to vote ''no'' to the draft constitution at the referendum.

The network includes the Students Federation of Thailand and student activists at Thammasat University.

In the advertisement, the anti-coup network has tried to convince the public that ''voting down the draft constitution is equivalent to overthrowing the coup-makers''.

The network said it supported the 1997 abrogated constitution to be adopted as the new constitution.

Constitution Drafting Council (CDC) chairman Prasong Soonsiri took issue with the activists campaigning against the draft constitution.

He said only wealthy people, particularly the old power group, could afford to fund the expensive full-page advertisements in newspapers.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said the date for the general election could be fixed only after the outcome of the charter referendum.

He added that a draft referendum bill is being deliberated by the National Legislative Assembly. When enacted, any attempt to persuade the public to oppose the draft constitution at the referendum would be deemed illegal, he said.

Chaturon Chaisaeng, in charge of the Thai Rak Thai group, called on the CNS and charter drafters to ensure that the election takes place, and that it is organised in a free and fair manner