Thailand Votes in First Referendum Since 2014 Coup

The final results of the ballot will be out on Wednesday.

A Thai student holds a poster reading “vote no = no coup “ at Thammasat University in Bangkok. (Photo: AP)

Thai voters approved a junta-backed constitution in a referendum on Sunday, preliminary results showed, an outcome that paves the way for an election next year but will also require future elected governments to rule on the military’s terms.

Voters handed the junta led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha a convincing win in its first major popularity test at the ballot box since it seized power in a 2014 coup.

With 94 percent of the vote counted, early results from the Election Commission showed 61.4 percent of Thais had voted for the charter, while 37.9 percent rejected it. Full results are due on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha leaves after casting his vote. (Photo: AP)

The junta says the constitution is designed to heal more than a decade of divisive politics in Thailand that has dented economic growth and left scores dead in civil unrest.

But Thailand’s major political parties and critics of the government say the charter will enshrine the military’s political role for years to come.

The win was a blow to the powerful Shinawatra clan and their allies, whose populist politics are reviled by Thailand’s military-royalist establishment.

Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted as prime minister in a coup in 2006 and his sister Yingluck’s government was toppled by Prayuth in 2014.

Thailand’s former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra poses as she casts her vote. (Photo: AP)

Intimidation

The junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), banned debate about the constitution and campaigning ahead of the vote. The authorities have detained and charged dozens of people who have spoken against it, including politicians and student activists.

(It was) a one-sided campaign in which the junta indirectly encouraged ‘yes’ votes and arrested or intimidated referendum opponents. As a result many voters did not show up while others felt compelled to vote ‘yes’.

Paul Chambers, Director of Research, Institute of Southeast Asian Affairs

Turnout of around 55 percent was below the 80 percent targeted by the Election Commission. That likely favoured the government, said Thithinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.

Around 200,000 police were deployed for the referendum and voting passed without major incident.

Thai soldiers check their name on the voters’ list. (Photo: AP)

Decade of Turmoil

The vote comes amid concerns about the health of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 88. The military has for decades invoked its duty as defender of the deeply revered monarch to justify its interventions in politics.

Critics say the charter is the military’s attempt to make good on their failure to banish Thaksin from Thai politics after the 2006 coup.

Senior army officers have said the new charter aims to make future coups unnecessary by weakening political parties and ensuring the military a role in overseeing Thailand’s economic and political development.

Under the constitution, which would be Thailand’s 20th since the military abolished an absolute monarchy in 1932, a junta-appointed Senate with seats reserved for military commanders would check the powers of elected lawmakers.

Thaksin (Shinawatra) called the charter a “folly”, saying it would perpetuate the junta’s power and make it impossible to govern Thailand.

Thaksin retains strong influence despite living in self-imposed exile. His support base in the rural northeast bucked the trend and voted against the charter on Sunday.