A Thai woman casts her ballot during a constitutional referendum vote at southern province of Pattani, Thailand August 7, 2016.
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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.
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.
Preliminary results of the referendum are expected around 9:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Sunday, with final results to be confirmed three days later.
Voters will be asked whether they accept the draft constitution, and whether to permit the country’s Senate to jointly vote for prime minister along with the House of Representatives.
“Come out (to vote) because today is important for the future of the country”, Prayut said after casting his ballot. Thais voted Sunday in a refe.
Millions of Thais voted on a junta-crafted constitution Sunday in a referendum where open debate has been banned, as opponents warned the document will perpetuate military power and deepen divisions.
The Thai Electoral Commission said the constitution would lay the foundation for a civilian government influenced by the military and controlled by appointed rather than elected officials.
Partial results released by the Election Commission late Sunday showed 62 percent of voters had approved the charter, with 90 percent of votes counted so far.
The campaign ban did not stop the junta from deploying thousands of military cadets to encourage Thailand’s 50 million eligible voters to participate in the referendum.
As a result, public knowledge of the draft constitution is limited; many Thais say they have little idea what is in it. It set up hand-picked committees to draft a charter that would enshrine its declared goal of reforming politics by eliminating corruption. Leading the other side is Thailand’s traditional ruling class and royalists unnerved by Thaksin’s support, especially as it contemplates its future.
Since a 2006 coup, power has flipped between elected governments led by or linked to self-exiled billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra – Yingluck’s elder brother – and rule by the army and its establishment supporters.
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. 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.
“The junta would probably stay in power longer and simply either create (another) constitution of its own or borrow a previous constitution”, said Paul Chambers, a Thailand-based academic and expert on the army. The draft would also allow all orders made by the junta – which has absolute power – to remain, and require future governments to adhere to its 20-year development plan.
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The junta, which came to power in a May 2014 coup and ordered the constitution rewritten, says the new version will usher in a new era of clean politics and stable democracy in a country chronically short of both in recent years, sometimes sliding into violent internal political conflict.
