Wissanu won’t give poll date

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam has asked the public and the media not to demand the government specify exactly when an election will be held.

Mr Wissanu said on Tuesday the next general election will possibly take place a year after the new constitution is promulgated, resulting in speculation the poll will be postponed from the likely date given under the National Council for Peace and Order’s roadmap.

He clarified yesterday that his remarks did not mean the election will have to be put off, and the time frame mentioned was only his estimate based on the timeline of what will happen after the constitution is promulgated.

“Please don’t force [the government] to give a specific schedule for the election. We can only roughly estimate it. Now, I’ll have to be more careful when speaking about these things,” he said. “In future we will talk about the election schedule in broad terms, not the exact timing,” he said.

Mr Wissanu, however, admitted that Section 77 of the new charter has adversely affected the process of drafting and passing new laws.

Section 77 of the charter requires sufficient hearings among parties concerned to be carried out before the drafting of any new laws, to ensure they are well analysed based on sufficient information from all sides, he said. In the past, hearings were not mentioned in the charter as a compulsory process, he said.

The required hearings can be conducted via the website of the organisation proposing a particular law, or by letters and e-mails, to gather opinions to be sent to the National Legislative Assembly and the Council of State, he said.

Constitution Drafting Committee chairman Meechai Ruchupan admitted he could not confirm that the drafting process for the 10 organic bills which will accompany the charter will be finished by the end of this year, adding it remains unclear how long the Election Commission and parties will be given to adjust.