Court to rule on Article 61 this month

THE CONSTITUTIONAL Court will rule this month whether a clause under the referendum law’s Article 61 is constitutional and not impermissibly curtailing freedom of speech, a source familiar with the case said yesterday.

The court received explanations defending the problematic clause from both the National Legislative Assembly and Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday, as had been requested. It will convene to deliberate on the agencies’ responses next week and hear further testimony if the explanations are insufficient, according to the source.

The second paragraph of Article 61 prohibits the spread of “false”, “rude”, “inciting” or “intimidating” messages concerning the referendum and the constitution draft, with punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of Bt200,000. 

A petition has been lodged against it alleging that the clause violates the 2014 interim charter, which protects freedom of expression.

Authorities have insisted that the referendum date of August 7 will remain unchanged even if a clause in the referendum law is at risk of nullification. They added that even if one clause of Article 61 is invalidated, the rest of the law will still be in effect.

Pheu Thai Party politicians on Wednesday posted on their Facebook pages their opposition to the constitution draft, raising concerns whether they could be prosecuted according to the referendum law.

Udom Rathamarit, a spokesman of the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), said drafters were considering whether to file a complaint against some of the politicians whose comments may have distorted the draft charter’s content.

EC member Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said the CDC could lodge a petition with his agency if they identified any false statements about the constitution draft. He reiterated that he personally did not see politicians’ actions as violations of the referendum law, although such actions might violate the junta’s order banning political parties’ activities.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam declined to comment on the matter but said everybody must be responsible for their own actions.

He added that he did not think Pheu Thai politicians’ stance against the constitution draft would influence the public. 

“Thailand is under no one’s influence,” he said.

Wissanu cited Wittaya Kaewparadai, a member of the junta-appointed National Reform Steering Assembly and a former leader of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, as saying that he would vote yes in the referendum. 

Wissanu said systematically showing a stance regarding the charter at the same time as Pheu Thai politicians do so was different than trying to influence how people vote.

Asked if the government could reveal what it would do if the charter fails to pass, he replied that the National Council for Peace and Order, not the government, should comment, adding that no one had told him about the issue yet.