Thailand Referendum: Draft constitution wins approval

[webfact]

Thailand Referendum: Draft constitution wins approval

  

BANGKOK, 8th August, 2016 NNT. The Election Commission has released the unofficial result of the referendum showing that Thailand has voted to accept the new constitution.

 

The majority of Thai citizens voted in support of the draft constitution. The Election Commission revealed in the unofficial results of Thailand’s charter referendum, that voters have voted to accept the draft constitution by approximately 61% or more than 15 million votes. In addition, approximately 58% voted in favor of the additional question which proposes that the appointed Senate be involved in selecting a prime minister during the first five years.

 

The official result will be released on Wednesday 10th August. The vote paves the way for a general election which is scheduled to be held in 2017 in keeping with the current government’s reform road map.

 

-- nnt 2016-08-08

[webfact]

Returns show landslide win for junta in charter poll

By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter 

 

Soldiers cast their ballots Sunday at a polling station in Bangkok.

 

BANGKOK — Preliminary results suggest the new constitution drafted by the military regime is set to be passed by a huge margin in Sunday’s referendum.

 

A majority of voters not only endorsed the junta-sponsored charter draft but also consented to the next set of Senate appointing an unelected prime minister to rule the country and lead a national reform effort in the next five years, according to the results.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2016/08/07/returns-show-landslide-win-junta-charter-poll/

 

-- Khaosod English 2016-08-08

[webfact]

Thai voters overwhelmingly approve junta-backed constitution
VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press
NATNICHA CHUWIRUCH, Associated Press

 

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai voters on Sunday overwhelmingly approved a new junta-backed constitution that lays the foundation for a civilian government influenced by the military and controlled by appointed - rather than elected - officials.

 

Although near-final results showed that more than 60 percent of voters in a referendum called by the military government approved of the constitution, the vote is likely to be met by some skepticism. The junta - led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a retired army general who has severely curtailed dissent since coming to power in a 2014 coup - imposed severe restrictions on public discussion of the proposed constitution.

 

Ahead of the referendum, the junta banned political rallies and open discussion about the constitution, and criticism of the draft was made punishable by 10 years in jail. Critics say the restrictions ensured that most people were unaware of the pitfalls of the charter, and were probably anxious to get the long-drawn process over with so that they could move on.

 

The "yes" vote "adds that touch of legitimacy to the coup makers," Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of Kyoto University in Japan, told The Associated Press.

"It gives them the green light for the next few steps they want to take. They will say the opposition cannot say anything now," said Pavin, who is Thai and is a vocal critic of the junta.

 

Prayuth's office, however, said in a statement late Sunday that the referendum "was conducted with a high degree of transparency and openness on part of the government."

 

Despite the curbs on civil liberties, Prayuth's rule has brought a measure of stability and ended the frequent street violence and divisive politics that had frayed Thailand's social fabric for years. That veneer of stability could help explain the "yes" vote for the new constitution.

 

There was also the allure of new elections that Prayuth has promised to hold in 2017, after the approval of the new constitution, although he's said he would call the vote even if the referendum was defeated.

 

The charter "speaks to a lot of worries and concerns that a majority of Thai people have," Gothom Areeya, a professor at Thailand's Mahidol University, told the AP. "Many Thais want to see an end to corruption and the return of peace and development. Even though experts like me may criticize it a lot, our message just didn't reach a lot of the people."

 

With 94 percent of the ballots tallied when counting was suspended for the night, 61 percent of the voters said they approved of the constitution, while 39 percent rejected it. The official final count is expected to be issued on Wednesday.

 

Only about 58 percent of Thailand's roughly 50 million registered voters cast ballots in the referendum.

In addition to asking for an opinion on the constitution, the referendum also asked a supplementary question on whether voters wanted an appointed Senate to choose a prime minister. That question elicited a less enthusiastic approval - 58 percent "yes" and 42 percent "no."

 

Analysts have said that a "yes" vote would be a setback for democracy in Thailand.

 

Pavin, the Kyoto University professor, said that even when the military is no longer in power and a civilian government is in place after the 2017 elections, the military "will have the constitution as a remote control. The constitution can be used as a device to hold onto political power."

 

The main criticisms of the draft constitution are:

 

- A transition period of at least five years to civilian rule.

- A 250-member appointed Senate that includes the commanders of the army and other security services.

- A deadlock in the 500-member elected lower house could trigger a selection of a prime minister who is not an elected member of parliament. Under the abolished 2007 constitution, half the Senate was elected, and the prime minister had to come from the lower house.

- Emergency decrees enacted by the junta without any parliamentary consent remain valid.

 

Thailand has endured 13 successful military coups and 11 attempted takeovers since it replaced an absolute monarchy with a constitutional one in 1932. This would be Thailand's 20th constitution.

 

Leaders of the latest coup say frequent political conflicts had made the country ungovernable and that military rule was necessary for stability. The junta set up hand-picked committees to draft a charter that would enshrine its declared goal of reforming politics by eliminating corruption.

 

But others believe the new constitution has a different aim: to weaken allies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the central figure in the roiling of Thai politics.

 

Thaksin's political machine has easily won every national election since 2001, mainly due to the support of working-class and rural voters who benefited from his populist policies. Leading the other side

is Thailand's traditional ruling class and royalists - known as the "yellow shirts" - unnerved by Thaksin's support, especially as it contemplates its future. 

 

The army ousted Thaksin in a 2006 coup, after "yellow shirt" protesters took to the streets and accused him of abuse of power, corruption and disrespecting the king. He has lived abroad since 2008 to avoid prison for a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated. The 2014 coup ousted his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was elected prime minister in 2011.

 

Those who brought Thaksin down now seek to weaken major political parties, which would ensure that real power stays in the hands of what is dubbed the permanent bureaucracy: the military, the courts and other unelected guardians of the conservative bloc.

 

Gothom, the Mahidol professor, said that Thailand may see peace now, but that it will likely be a peace enforced by military power.

 

"How much or how little freedom of expression will be allowed to the people, we will just have to wait and see," he said.

___

Associated Press journalists Grant Peck, Jerry Harmer and Tassanee Vejpongsa in Bangkok and Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo contributed to this report.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-08-08

[webfact]

EC confident of over 50 percent voter’s turnout

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Election commissioner in charge of elections Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said he was confident that the referendum voter’s turnout was more than 50 percent and higher than the turnout result of the last referendum.

 

He pointed out that unofficial voter’s turnout in some provinces was higher than the 70 percent he predicted with the turnout in Prachin Buri and Lop Buri being recorded at 88.46 and 89.28 percent respectively.

 

No matter the final outcome of the vote count, he expected all sides of the political spectrum would accept the referendum result.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha thanked voters for their political awareness to exercise their voting rights in the referendum, said government spokesman Maj-Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

 

Whatever the outcome of the referendum, he said the prime minister would accept it and pleaded with all parties concern to accept the decision of the people.

 

Unofficial referendum result of Thai PBS at about 8 pm shows 61.57 percent of the votes were in favour of the draft charter against 38.43 percent. And 58.29 percent were in favour of senators having the right to vote the next prime minister against 41.71 percent who disagreed.

 

The regional results are as follows: the North, 57.67 percent accept the draft charter against 42.33 percent; Central region, 69.47 percent for and 30.53 percent against; the Northeast, 48.58 percent for and 51.42 percent against;  and the South, 76.65 percent for and 23.35 percent against.

 

Even before an unofficial result of the referendum was announced, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship announced at a press conference held at its office at about 7 pm that it accepted the result of the referendum.

 

UDD chairman Jatuporn Promphan told the media, from the very beginning, the UDD was fully aware that it was almost impossible for the draft charter to be defeated in the referendum, yet they would accept the result any way and hoped that Thailand would, from now on, move forward towards true democratic rule.

 

Jatuporn said that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha and members of the National Council for Peace and Order might, tonight, feel happy with their victory “it was a victory which they should not take pride in because their rivals stood not a chance of winning”.

 

Now that the referendum was over, he asked whether the prime minister would still retain the peace-keeping centre which, he said, has been viewed with disdain for harassing those who think differently from the government.

 

Jatuporn announced that he would keep this pre-referendum promise to not contest the next election if the draft charter is endorsed in the referendum.

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/175311-2/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2016-08-08

[Nbarch]

A bad day for Thailand; the new constitution does not solve the political problems, it just exacerbates it.

And sadly, I feel this will all end in tears!

 

 

 

[The stuttering parrot]

Using standover tactics,  bullying  might have got the vote up but it was not by any landslide and the only thing it has done is further divide the north from the south.

Great day for the junta supporters and a sad day for democracy. What a shame.

[scorecard]

North-East in rounded numbers:

Yes 49%

No  51%

 

I'm very surprising it wasn't a bigger % for No. IMHO it shows the red machine was at work but didn't convince all that many.

 

Or maybe it means the paymasters thugs are no longer capable of frightening and/or brainwashing so many Issan folks. 

 

Interesting message 

[NongKhaiKid]

Prior to the voting there was no discussion of the charter,      the only comments permitted came from official sources.

It was a crime to criticize the proposals and to spread lies,    distorted facts,  misrepresentations etc the definition of which lay with the junta.  Thousands of military cadets were sent out to spread the word to vote and who knows what else they may have said.

 

Now some of the laws can easily be amended by changing a few words so expect an official announcement that it's against the law to discuss or criticize the result and no doubt the biggest No No will be to suggest the final tally was anything less than accurate.

The proposals were  '  passed  '  and every opportunity will be taken to remind the country of it.

[scorecard]

53 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thai voters overwhelmingly approve junta-backed constitution
VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press
NATNICHA CHUWIRUCH, Associated Press

 

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai voters on Sunday overwhelmingly approved a new junta-backed constitution that lays the foundation for a civilian government influenced by the military and controlled by appointed - rather than elected - officials.

 

Although near-final results showed that more than 60 percent of voters in a referendum called by the military government approved of the constitution, the vote is likely to be met by some skepticism. The junta - led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a retired army general who has severely curtailed dissent since coming to power in a 2014 coup - imposed severe restrictions on public discussion of the proposed constitution.

 

Ahead of the referendum, the junta banned political rallies and open discussion about the constitution, and criticism of the draft was made punishable by 10 years in jail. Critics say the restrictions ensured that most people were unaware of the pitfalls of the charter, and were probably anxious to get the long-drawn process over with so that they could move on.

 

The "yes" vote "adds that touch of legitimacy to the coup makers," Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of Kyoto University in Japan, told The Associated Press.

"It gives them the green light for the next few steps they want to take. They will say the opposition cannot say anything now," said Pavin, who is Thai and is a vocal critic of the junta.

 

Prayuth's office, however, said in a statement late Sunday that the referendum "was conducted with a high degree of transparency and openness on part of the government."

 

Despite the curbs on civil liberties, Prayuth's rule has brought a measure of stability and ended the frequent street violence and divisive politics that had frayed Thailand's social fabric for years. That veneer of stability could help explain the "yes" vote for the new constitution.

 

There was also the allure of new elections that Prayuth has promised to hold in 2017, after the approval of the new constitution, although he's said he would call the vote even if the referendum was defeated.

 

The charter "speaks to a lot of worries and concerns that a majority of Thai people have," Gothom Areeya, a professor at Thailand's Mahidol University, told the AP. "Many Thais want to see an end to corruption and the return of peace and development. Even though experts like me may criticize it a lot, our message just didn't reach a lot of the people."

 

With 94 percent of the ballots tallied when counting was suspended for the night, 61 percent of the voters said they approved of the constitution, while 39 percent rejected it. The official final count is expected to be issued on Wednesday.

 

Only about 58 percent of Thailand's roughly 50 million registered voters cast ballots in the referendum.

In addition to asking for an opinion on the constitution, the referendum also asked a supplementary question on whether voters wanted an appointed Senate to choose a prime minister. That question elicited a less enthusiastic approval - 58 percent "yes" and 42 percent "no."

 

Analysts have said that a "yes" vote would be a setback for democracy in Thailand.

 

Pavin, the Kyoto University professor, said that even when the military is no longer in power and a civilian government is in place after the 2017 elections, the military "will have the constitution as a remote control. The constitution can be used as a device to hold onto political power."

 

The main criticisms of the draft constitution are:

 

- A transition period of at least five years to civilian rule.

- A 250-member appointed Senate that includes the commanders of the army and other security services.

- A deadlock in the 500-member elected lower house could trigger a selection of a prime minister who is not an elected member of parliament. Under the abolished 2007 constitution, half the Senate was elected, and the prime minister had to come from the lower house.

- Emergency decrees enacted by the junta without any parliamentary consent remain valid.

 

Thailand has endured 13 successful military coups and 11 attempted takeovers since it replaced an absolute monarchy with a constitutional one in 1932. This would be Thailand's 20th constitution.

 

Leaders of the latest coup say frequent political conflicts had made the country ungovernable and that military rule was necessary for stability. The junta set up hand-picked committees to draft a charter that would enshrine its declared goal of reforming politics by eliminating corruption.

 

But others believe the new constitution has a different aim: to weaken allies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the central figure in the roiling of Thai politics.

 

Thaksin's political machine has easily won every national election since 2001, mainly due to the support of working-class and rural voters who benefited from his populist policies. Leading the other side

is Thailand's traditional ruling class and royalists - known as the "yellow shirts" - unnerved by Thaksin's support, especially as it contemplates its future. 

 

The army ousted Thaksin in a 2006 coup, after "yellow shirt" protesters took to the streets and accused him of abuse of power, corruption and disrespecting the king. He has lived abroad since 2008 to avoid prison for a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated. The 2014 coup ousted his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was elected prime minister in 2011.

 

Those who brought Thaksin down now seek to weaken major political parties, which would ensure that real power stays in the hands of what is dubbed the permanent bureaucracy: the military, the courts and other unelected guardians of the conservative bloc.

 

Gothom, the Mahidol professor, said that Thailand may see peace now, but that it will likely be a peace enforced by military power.

 

"How much or how little freedom of expression will be allowed to the people, we will just have to wait and see," he said.

___

Associated Press journalists Grant Peck, Jerry Harmer and Tassanee Vejpongsa in Bangkok and Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo contributed to this report.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-08-08

 

And AP re-emerges with it's less than truthful comments which have been challenged before as errors of fact, but the 'AP machine' chooses to ignore it's errors and repeated errors in it's reporting. 

Edited August 7, 2016 by scorecard

[MaiChai]

Does this mean Prayut will be replaced by a Senate pm fairly soon?

[taichiplanet]

Yay! Now we can have permanent happiness.

[ramrod711]

The funniest thing about this is that "the junta fan boys" are the Thai people, and the Shin fan boys are pretenders.

[ramrod711]

1 hour ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Prior to the voting there was no discussion of the charter,      the only comments permitted came from official sources.

It was a crime to criticize the proposals and to spread lies,    distorted facts,  misrepresentations etc the definition of which lay with the junta.  Thousands of military cadets were sent out to spread the word to vote and who knows what else they may have said.

 

Now some of the laws can easily be amended by changing a few words so expect an official announcement that it's against the law to discuss or criticize the result and no doubt the biggest No No will be to suggest the final tally was anything less than accurate.

The proposals were  '  passed  '  and every opportunity will be taken to remind the country of it.

 

Who knows, perhaps it will become a crime to instruct people to run down fellow citizens with your car, because, after all it's just a motor vehicle offence. Would it really be so bad if leaders went to prison for instructing their followers to bring bottles of gasoline and burn public buildings? I want peace, I want law and order and I feel much better knowing that it won't be perverted by the likes of Chalerm and company.

[PatOngo]

Well...I am overwhelmed with happiness!

[NongKhaiKid]

1 minute ago, ramrod711 said:

 

Who knows, perhaps it will become a crime to instruct people to run down fellow citizens with your car, because, after all it's just a motor vehicle offence. Would it really be so bad if leaders went to prison for instructing their followers to bring bottles of gasoline and burn public buildings? I want peace, I want law and order and I feel much better knowing that it won't be perverted by the likes of Chalerm and company.

Does it matter who is in power here as they tend to have their own priorities  ?

Yes every govt does some good but they also ensure their own best interests are served.

Law and order etc gets perverted by whoever has the authority to do it.

Chalerm and Co were a nightmare but look at how so called justice is being served these days.      

[canuckamuck]

Much as I was hoping to see a little backbone from the people. Perhaps this is the only way to move forward.

[Wilsonandson]

Infographic on the front page of The Nation showing regional breakdown of the referendum. Tweeted@RichardBarrow.

[ramrod711]

9 minutes ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Does it matter who is in power here as they tend to have their own priorities  ?

Yes every govt does some good but they also ensure their own best interests are served.

Law and order etc gets perverted by whoever has the authority to do it.

Chalerm and Co were a nightmare but look at how so called justice is being served these days.      

 

I don't know what is going to happen, but I do know what did happen. The people have spoken, let's hope that Prayut respects the trust the Thai people have placed in him. My wife and I live in a "red village" intimidation was the norm, she voted yesterday, I didn't ask her who she voted for. My wife attends a government trade school, last week her teacher told the class to vote no and that he wouldn't teach a bunch of yellow shirts. Not a surprise really, but surely not what you want to see from a respected figure.

[chiang mai]

Sadly, it's probably a better result than spending another two years writing version 2.

 

The Thai's I know and have spoken with have said they didn't know/understand the details of the document, the single fact that it had been offered to the "people" to comment on and potentially change was enough to make them vote "yes".

[Johnniey]

15 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Much as I was hoping to see a little backbone from the people. Perhaps this is the only way to move forward.

Many of the Thai I've talked to about this really don't care or have accepted the situation as it is. 

 

Of course I'm not allowed to talk about the real reason why but it IS what the people want, although some still dream of an equal society, and for once most people realize that there will need to be a lot of bloodshed to realize it. They are scared. This really is the "confluence age" in Thai history.

[LannaGuy]

with no debate or counter argument allowed what could be expected?

[harada]

The real fun is yet to start.

[selftaopath]

33 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Well...I am overwhelmed with happiness!

I don't think our village people are b/c few voted. I asked why? Ans: They don't want to vote "for free." lol i.e. no Baht for voting so .... I guess no voting. lol Ahhhhhhhhhh is this Thais form of democracy? lol lol lol 

[selftaopath]

31 minutes ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Does it matter who is in power here as they tend to have their own priorities  ?

Yes every govt does some good but they also ensure their own best interests are served.

Law and order etc gets perverted by whoever has the authority to do it.

Chalerm and Co were a nightmare but look at how so called justice is being served these days.      

I could not agree more Kid. I don't see any Thai politician/government caring for the people or the good/progress of Thailand. It's all self-serving to the max. It's like dip into the money well as fast and often as you can b/f it runs out. And what really "kills me" is so many say they love Thailand. lol lol Really???? Ah but then again Thais love to talk and are not so intent upon action or "walking their talk." 

[kkup]

That info-graphic was made last week.. 

[NongKhaiKid]

11 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

Sadly, it's probably a better result than spending another two years writing version 2.

 

The Thai's I know and have spoken with have said they didn't know/understand the details of the document, the single fact that it had been offered to the "people" to comment on and potentially change was enough to make them vote "yes".

In a BBC report Jonathan Head described how discussion etc had been banned and many Thais didn't understand the details of the new charter.      A young lady voter was interviewed and in the translation of her words she confirmed she didn't really uderstand so had to ask her family what to do,    her dad said vote No so she did  !

For those of us who may have been used to carrying out our civic duty in our home countries it's an interesting question,  "  would you vote Yes or No to a proposal you didn't really understand or abstain   ?  "

[MaxLee]

Big brother will rule in Thailand 4EVER....

[chiang mai]

2 minutes ago, NongKhaiKid said:

In a BBC report Jonathan Head described how discussion etc had been banned and many Thais didn't understand the details of the new charter.      A young lady voter was interviewed and in the translation of her words she confirmed she didn't really uderstand so had to ask her family what to do,    her dad said vote No so she did  !

For those of us who may have been used to carrying out our civic duty in our home countries it's an interesting question,  "  would you vote Yes or No to a proposal you didn't really understand or abstain   ?  "

 

You might if doing so were seen as the next step in a multi step process.

[Toscano]

I live in a large village of rural northeast Thailand .  My wife was an official at our local polling station .  I do not believe any leaflets or information about the new draft constitution have been distributed in our vicinity .  I doubt that the Thai public at large have been informed of the content of this charter .  No body has been allowed to discuss it or speak against it at risk of 10yrs in prison .  I believe the Thai public have been deliberately kept in the dark , that most people voting for or against , had no idea of the content of this charter or what they were voting for .  Am I mistaken , or was this a cruel deception ?

[sharecropper]

Stockholm Syndrome. 

 

I also find it hard to believe they apparently counted 90%+ of votes within 4 hours of the polling booths closing.