19 April 2016

News Story: Thailand sets Aug. 7 for referendum on controversial draft constitution

BANGKOK, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Election Commission of Thailand announced Monday to set Aug. 7 as the date for the referendum on the draft constitution, which recently attracts criticism from some politicians and scholars.

Boonkiat Rakchartcharoen, the acting secretary-general of the commission announced the date and said they have also prepared various regulations for the referendum, including rules on voting and criteria for expression of opinions, Bangkok Post reported.

An additional and controversial question was proposed in the referendum by the National Legislative Assembly, being whether senators handpicked by the junta should be empowered to vote a new prime minister together with elected members of the parliament.

The draft, especially this question, is facing criticism from politicians from Thailand's two major political parties, namely the Pheu Thai Party the Democrat Party, and also scholars of universities.

Read the full story at Xinhua