The referendum is the first major popularity test for the junta led by Prayuth Chan-ocha, the prime minister who has suppressed political activity during the two years since he seized power in a coup in 2014.
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That will be a disappointment for Thailands last elected Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who came out to cast her vote early on Sunday.
The vote paves the way for a general election in 2017 but requires future governments to rule on the military’s terms.
Thailand held a referendum Sunday on a new constitution amid severe restrictions imposed by the military junta.
Jirattha Vitthaya, a 40-year-old company worker, said she voted against the new draft.
Thailand voted Sunday to approve a junta-scripted constitution, preliminary results showed, in a boost to the army’s political aspirations and a body blow to the country’s stuttering pro-democracy movement. Thais voted Sunday in a refe.
With many voters unaware of the details of what would be the nation’s 20th constitution since 1932 and the fifth in the past decade, the referendum for many was an opportunity to express their support or opposition of the junta.
But critics have argued that the draft will perpetuate army control with the armed forces and an appointed senate retaining decisive influence over future elected governments.
According to the country’s Election Commission, with 91 per cent of the votes counted so far, 61 per cent have voted in favour, BBC reported.
Potchana Surapitic, 53, who voted for the constitution at a Bangkok polling station, said she was convinced the military’s promise to hold full elections next year was the country’s best chance for stability.
Thailand’s election commission has yet to provide an exact figure for turnout in a constitutional referendum on Sunday, but has confirmed the tally can not exceed 55%. They are also being asked a supplementary question, whether or not the appointed senate should be allowed to join the lower house in selecting a Prime Minister.
One poll conducted between August 2 and 6 had 76.9 percent “yes” votes, while the other two had 61.3 percent and 57.3 percent voicing approval.
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.
The junta, however, insists the charter is created to heal more than a decade of divisive politics in Thailand.
Made public in March, the draft proposes a voting system which would make it hard for a single political party to win a majority of seats in the lower house.
The drafting process which led to the document being voted on was also heavily dominated by the military, and discussion or criticism of the new constitution was muzzled.
Prayuth has said he will not resign if Thais reject the constitution and that a general election will take place next year no matter what the outcome.
Critics say the draft is an undemocratic attempt by the military to extend its control over the country and its approval could raise the risk of future clashes.
Mr Shinawtra was deposed in a coup in 2006 following protests by “yellow shirts”, who accused him of corruption.
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.
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The frail health of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, now 88, has compounded the situation as competing elites jostle ahead of any political transition. He has lived overseas since 2008 to avoid prison for a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated.
