Voters gave approval to the military-backed constitution with a clear-cut majority in the Thailand referendum amid serious concerns of the political parties, polls results show on Sunday.
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The military says its new constitution will end endemic political corruption and pave the way for a general election next year.
The junta says the constitution is created to heal more than a decade of divisive politics in Thailand that has dented economic growth and left scores dead in civil unrest.
“This process has come about based on our own initiative, requiring great toil over many years to reach this pinnacle, where we could decide by ourselves, the future of Thailand in a noble manner”, Prayuth said in a statement distributed by his office.
Campaigning for or against the draft constitution was outlawed, with violators threatened with up to 10 years’ imprisonment. As a result, public knowledge of the draft Constitution was limited. Final results are expected in the next two days.
The main criticism of the draft constitution includes at least five-year transition to civilian rule and a 250-member appointed Senate that includes the commanders of the army and other security services. This time could be similar, although the junta-sponsored charter is a more watertight version aimed at maintaining indefinite military supervision over Thai politics through a military-appointed senate, which is now enabled by the referendum to pick the prime minister together with the elected lower house.
– Emergency decrees enacted by the junta without any parliamentary consent remain valid. The junta leader has come under criticism from rights groups and some foreign governments for a crackdown on freedom of speech and assembly that was stepped up ahead of the vote.
“Far from being the key step toward the achievement of what the NCPO has termed ‘full and sustainable democracy, ‘ the draft charter creates undemocratic institutions, weakens the power of future elected governments, and is likely to fuel political instability”, the global rights consortium FIDH said in a report August 3, referring to the junta’s official name, the National Council for Peace and Order.
Almost 58 percent had voted in favor of the additional question while 42 percent countered it, he added.
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.
In Thailand’s rural heartland, supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra say they will focus on winning an election next year, even though they would have to govern on military terms if they win.
Prayut had promised to hold elections in the summer of 2017, whether or not the charter was passed. Thailand has endured 13 successful military coups and 11 attempted takeovers since 1932. If adopted, the constitution in question will become the 20th constitution of Thailand.
But the latest political crisis – dubbed the “lost decade” – is particularly acute. It set up hand-picked committees to draft a charter that would enshrine its declared goal of reforming politics by eliminating corruption.
Norachit Sinhaseni, a member of the Constitution Drafting Commission, said Thai people “feel there is a lot corruption going on, money is being wasted and a lot of it is going into the pockets of politicians”. “If 100,000 or a million people protest, then the soldiers won’t be able to suppress us”, he says.
Meanwhile, opponents of the draft charter including the Pheu Thai Party, questioned the legitimacy of the referendum, as voter turnout was low. 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. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose righteous rule has anchored the kingdom since 1946, is 88 and ailing. He has lived overseas since 2008 to avoid prison for a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated. Nonetheless, Abhisit Vejjajiva, the head of the Democrat Party, which opposed Thaksin and whose leaders engineered the political chaos that brought about the 2014 coup that ended democratic government, has publicly said he is opposed to the charter.
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It says that if approved, the constitution will be a major step towards returning to full democracy. Most of those shuffling forward were as silent as the ochre-robed monks who idled nearby, mindful that a no vote would simply prolong the junta’s stint in power, while voting yes would make the military a permanent political power broker in the Southeast Asian nation.
