Cabinet, NCPO resolve to hold referendum on Thailand's new Constitution

BANGKOK, May 19 (TNA) - The Cabinet and the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) have resolved to have Thailand's National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to amend the 2014 Provisional Constitution to pave the way for a referendum of the country's new Constitution draft. Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha told journalists on Tuesday, after a joint Cabinet-NCPO meeting in Bangkok, that the referendum process will take three months and delay the timeframe of the ongoing national reform roadmap. NLA Vice President Surachai Liengboonlertchai noted, meanwhile, that a draft to amend the Provisional Constitution is to reach NLA within 15 days so that NLA can speed up the process to pass the amendment. Surachai suggested, however, that assemblymen have enough time to carefully study the amendment draft, pointing out that the amendment must include conditions relating to the referendum, namely details on the writing of another Constitution draft if people rejected the present draft. According to the NLA vice president, if the referendum is announced, the interim government and NCPO must relax restrictions on political movements to allow parties to express their opinions on the new Constitution draft because an organic law on referendum requires public forums to be organized by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) for people to express their opinions to create proper understanding on the new Constitution draft. (TNA)