EC: 2016 charter referendum's voter turnout will be higher than 2007

Suwit Rattiwan

BANGKOK, 29 July 2016 (NNT) - The Election Commission (EC) has expressed confidence that people will be more enthusiastic about the charter referendum while warning against selfies inside a voting booth.

EC member Prawit Rattanaphien said the EC was confident that voter turnout of the charter referendum would be higher than the 2007 referendum which had 57%. The EC expected that more than 80% of voters would cast their vote on 7 August 2016 and it would try to campaign for the referendum more so that voter turnout would reach 80%, said Mr. Prawit.

The EC member also warned that voters must not take a selfie inside a voting booth since it was illegal but they are allowed to take picture outside of a voting booth.

EC member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn admitted that people still did not understand the charter draft, making the EC concerned that they would base their votes on their belief or they would be misled. If voter turnout was lower than 57%, the work of the EC would have to reconsider its work, said Mr. Somchai.

-- NNT 2016-07-30

Signing up on line to vote using your I.D card number was a positive goose step in the right direction.

Will that be in actuality or on paper ?

Asked the wife which way she was going to vote.

After she uttered her choice, I asked, why she was voting, that way, she had no idea.

What a joke. They just make it up as they go along.

Last night I asked the GF if she was going to head home for the Aug 7 referendum. What referendum, she asks. You know, the one about the new charter. What charter?

Well there you have it, a fully informed Thai populace. No doubt the ignorance is due, in large part, to the suppression of public opinion by the junta. So one has to wonder, who, out in the provinces, know anything about what is supposed to happen on August 7, why, and what the implications will be for the future of Thailand?

"The Election Commission (EC) has expressed confidence that people will be more enthusiastic about the charter referendum than the last one while admitting that people still did not understand the charter draft."

Nobody I know understands what the heck is going on and 100% of all those people would prefer to watch the rice grow or sleep.