"Setting the date is important because it determines the number of eligible voters as regulations state that they must have their names on their housing registration for not less than 30 days," secretary-general Suthipol Thaweechaikarn said.

The date also determines when citizens who want to cast their vote away from their native provinces have to register. These two matters need more than 60 days for preparation.

The NLA had tentatively selected September 2 but the EC needs the NLA to announce the date officially, Suthipol said after a meeting on planning for the plebiscite.

The EC also decided to set up a special command centre to oversee the voting in the five southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla and Satun.

It will close the ballot boxes in those provinces from 3-4pm and count the votes at the polling stations.

Commissioner Sodsri Sattayatham said if the Cabinet does not allocate Bt1.5 billion to organise the national referendum by the end of the month, the EC will run into a lot of problems. The agency would borrow some funds from the NLA to tide it over.

Sodsri downplayed reports that the NLA intends to vote down the constitution draft, saying the NLA will revise the clauses that its members dislike.

Atthayuth Butrsriphoom

The Nation