Two biggest political parties which oppose the constitution, say provisions in the charter are created to ensure long-term military supervision of Thailand’s politics.
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A Yes vote would also enshrine the vesting of a great deal of power in appointed rather than elected officials.
“The lack of open campaigning is effectively a one-sided campaign”, said Chulalongkorn University political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak in Bangkok.
The CDC’s first draft was rejected in September a year ago by the now-defunct National Reform Council (NRC), a body set up by Prayuth to oversee economic reforms, which further postponed elections.
“We keep in touch not because of vested interests or because I was the army chief but because we have mutual trust, confidence and respect for each other throughout the past 50 years”, said the prime minister.
But its success in the referendum will hinge on the public’s acceptance of its core aim: entrenching the military as Thailand’s ultimate arbiter of power and the solution to the cyclical, often violent political unrest that has crippled the country for the past decade.
After a five year “transitory” period, the Senate will reduce to 200 people and be formed by a mix of appointed and elected members from within a pool of candidates.
Critics of the draft constitution have a long list of objections.
“The government apologizes that some of your rights may have been restricted for these past two years, and that you have not enjoyed their full use, but we assure you that we have done only what is necessary and based on the rule law”, said Prayuth.
“I have no intention of holding on to power. They won’t really overplay or overshadow the future government but they’re acting like a steering committee I would say”, he told Al Jazeera. Referendum rules also ban anyone from campaigning for either side, so people carried neutral signs, urging voters to cast ballots.
Thitinan said a “no” vote “would be a setback to the credibility of the junta, certainly, but it’s not going to see the back of them”.
However, interviews with senior military officers belie those claims and show that the military’s ambition is to make future coups unnecessary by weakening political parties.
“All people who have been detained or convicted exclusively for peacefully expressing their views on the draft constitution should be immediately and unconditionally released and have any criminal charges expunged”, said Benedict. The draft charter includes a host of sweeping economic, judicial and political reforms. The charter’s drafters were handpicked by the NCPO, and the government pulled out all the stops in a PR drive touting the new draft constitution’s features.
“But people could vote “yes” because they want this [military government] to end quickly and open the way for a general election”.
Critics say the charter is the military’s attempt to make good on their failure to banish former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his brand of populism from Thai politics after the coup that removed him in 2006.
The turmoil has been compounded by the frail health of 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, as competing elites jostle ahead of any transition. He has lived overseas since 2008 to avoid prison for a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated.
But the two main political parties in Thailand – who rarely agree – have both come out against the charter, which could prompt a higher turnout. The 2014 coup ousted his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was elected prime minister in 2011 but buffeted by protests sparked by legislation that would have pardoned Thaksin.
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.
Upon the draft charter’s public release in late March, a number of provisions immediately alarmed observers across political divides. “As a result, we will see power and authority shifted away from elected representatives to appointed agencies and individuals”.
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More than 40 million eligible voters will head to 94,000 polling stations across Thailand.
