BANGKOK, 20 August 2007 — Voters in Thailand’s first-ever national referendum approved a new constitution yesterday, clearing the way for a general election by December that would restore full civilian rule, unofficial results showed.
Approval of the constitution signaled a defeat for deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his still-strong following, who had fought the proposed charter.
Opponents of the draft constitution, who charged it represented a step backward for democracy, said they accepted the results.
But some areas of the country where Thaksin was popular registered majorities against the charter, suggesting that political reconciliation is far from complete after last year’s coup ousting the billionaire former leader.
The state Election Commission’s count, stopped for the night just before 11 p.m., showed 14.08 million votes, or almost 57 percent, in favor of the charter, and 10.29 million votes, or more than 41 percent, against it.
The tally represented about 95 percent of the total vote, said Election Commission Chairman Apichart Sukhagganond. Turnout was more than 54 percent among the country’s 45.6 million eligible voters, according to the commission.
Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said the referendum was “the first step in moving forward to full democracy” after last year’s bloodless Sept. 19 coup. He said that the charter is expected to be promulgated by the end of August after endorsement by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and that he hoped an election could be held soon after the monarch’s Dec. 5 birthday.
The constitution, which will be the country’s 18th since 1932, won a 65 percent “yes” vote in the capital, Bangkok, where protests last year calling for Thaksin to step down for alleged corruption and abuse of power led to his ouster.
But the totals for the poor, rural northeastern provinces — Thaksin’s political stronghold because of the populist policies of his 2001-06 governments — showed only about a 37 percent “yes” vote, with almost 63 percent opposed. In the north, Thaksin’s home region, “yes” votes were leading by a narrow margin.
The coup had been regarded by some critics as a move by the urban elite to restore influence lost to the rural majority under Thaksin’s rule.
The 186-page charter curbs the role of politicians, gives more power to unelected bodies such as the courts, and could perpetuate the behind-the-scenes power the military has wielded in Thailand for decades. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, widely touted as a likely next prime minister, said Surayud’s interim government “should set a definite time line for elections.”
