Parliament, Pheu Thai – Moving Forward joins hands to submit amendments to the draft referendum act. Hoping to amend the two-tiered majority – increase the flexibility of the Election Commission – hold a referendum on the same day as the election.
Mr. Wan Muhammad Noor Matha, Speaker of the House of Representatives Received two draft amendments to the Referendum Act, one from the coalition government. which the Pheu Thai Party proposed and another from the opposition party which the Progressive Party is proposing Mr. Wan Muhammad Noor said that he would bring these two drafts to the Office of the Secretariat of the House of Representatives. Proceed with the steps and included as an agenda for the next meeting. which should be completed soon Because we don’t have much time during the meeting, only about 2 months and 10 days.
Mr. Chusak Sirinil, Pheu Thai Party list MP, said that 129 Pheu Thai Party members signed up to request amendments to the draft. Referendum Act 2021, because the current law stipulates
that the referendum It is a 2-tiered majority, with the 1st tier being those who come to vote and must be a majority of all eligible people, and the 2nd tier being those who come to vote. Must be a majority vote of the voters. Therefore there is a risk in the case if people do not come out to exercise their rights. or do not wish to exercise the right It will cause problems in the referendum in the future.
‘Party members agree that it is appropriate to change the law. By using a majority vote according to general principles. It merely stipulates that it should override the voices of those who do not wish to exercise their right to vote. for righteousness,’ Mr. Chusak said.
Mr. Chusak said there were three other issues that should be resolved together. It is seen that voting The national budget is required to be approximately 3,000 million baht. Therefore, it is thought that if the voting of the resolution is close to the day of the general election or the day of the local election, It should probably be arr
anged together in one day. to save budget And people don’t have to come out many times. The other issue is It is seen that modern technology should be used to develop voting methods. In addition to checking the card, such as sending it by post or online.
‘There should be a referendum campaign. Therefore, it should be clearly written in the law that the Office of the Election Commission (EC) is required to do this, including allowing parties who agree and disagree to express their opinions equally. It will make the referendum be acknowledged and acknowledged by the people,’ Mr. Chusak said.
Mr. Parit Watcharasinthu, MP for the Kao Klai Party, said that he wants the people to see that this amendment to the referendum law is to improve the law to be fair. more efficient No matter what topic the resolution is. For the version of the Progressive Party, 3 issues were revised as follows: Issue 1 is to make the rules more fair. Due to the concerns of Two-level majority principle: We understand that the makers of th
is rule intended that the referendum would have an effect on a large number of people. But there is a risk of opening the door to parties who disagree with the issues being asked. Use the method of sleeping at home They did not come out to exercise their right to overturn the referendum. Even so, the rules were changed to a vote of more than one-half, that is, the votes of the people who approved were more than half of those who exercised their rights.
‘The second issue is to unlock the Election Commission to be able to hold a referendum on the same day as other elections more conveniently. to save budget It is also an issue that is consistent with the Pheu Thai Party and makes the Election Commission more flexible. At the same time, to prevent the Cabinet from using it as an excuse to postpone the referendum date. And the third point is to make the referendum more modern. Allowing people to vote in the referendum via online channels. Because at present, registration requires printing out documents and signi
ng only. Cannot be done online The Kao Klai Party therefore wants to guarantee people’s rights to be able to register online,’ Mr. Prit said.
Mr. Prit said the two parties have been coordinating since last week. Because both sides saw the need to present amendments to the referendum in a relatively consistent direction. Hopefully this press conference will serve as an example. and a good sign Even though they are on opposite sides of the parliamentary system. But they are ready to cooperate on issues they agree on. As for the issues that are seen differently Ready to compete fully Because it is an approach that ultimately gives the greatest benefit to the people.
As for the opinions of members of the Senate (Senators) on the proposed draft law, Mr. Prit said that if the draft amendment is interpreted as a reform law, It must go to a joint meeting of Parliament with senators also considering it. It is thought that the problem of two-tier majorities is not a new issue for members of parliament. As for issues
related to the Election Commission, the agency has already been invited to discuss.
Source: Thai News Agency