Referendum: Easy win for 'yes' vote (Updated Monday)
07 สิงหาคม 2559
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The draft constitution cruised to an easy win on Sunday in the long-awaited referendum. Analysts say results showed that many people were fed up with politicians and their corrupt ways.
The draft constitution cruised to an easy win on Sunday in the long-awaited referendum. Analysts say results showed that many people were fed up with politicians and their corrupt ways.
The draft constitution cruised to an easy win on Sunday in the long-awaited referendum as supporters overwhelmed opponents in what was not the tight contest that had been predicted.
The unofficial result from the Election Commission (EC) with 94% of the votes counted showed 15.56 million people backed the draft as opposed to 9.78 million who were against it.
The EC said the vote counting was frozen for Sunday. The counting will resume on Monday morning.
The 'Yes' camp accounted for 61.4% of the voter turn-out on Sunday, while the 'No' faction could garner only 38.6%.
But the support for the extra question on the ballot paper was slightly behind the draft, with 13.9 million people, or 58%, voting for it as against 10 million, or 42%, who rejected it.
The second question asked whether voters should allow the Senate to join the House of Representatives in selecting a prime minister.
What does it all mean? Here are excerpts from this morning's Bangkok Post analysis.
Analysis: Voters urge 'prompt return to normalcy'
Post reporters
The outcome of Sunday's referendum has shown Thai people are fed up with politicians and want to teach them a lesson as results will see the country return to a half-baked version of democracy.
The Election Commission holds a press conference shortly after the voting ended. WICHAN CHAROENKIAPAKUL
When the new charter is enacted with provisions designed to curb politicians' power, political parties will be weakened and forced to take a back seat, at least over the next five years. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is likely to remain in power during this period, according to political observers.
While the unofficial results show the "Yes" camp has outnumbered the "No" camp by a large margin, political observers noted that people voted in favour of the draft constitution for political reasons, rather than the draft's content.
Gen Prayut's decision to play his trump card by announcing he would vote in support of the draft, and the extra question related to the Senate's power to help select a prime minister, had a great psychological impact on the public.
The stance against the draft charter announced by Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra paled in significance to Gen Prayut's remarks. Even voters in Bangkok, an important support base for Mr Abhisit, voiced their support for the draft.
Somkiat Onwimon, a media guru and a political scientist, said the outcome of the referendum showed many people still lack interest in politics, and they were too easily persuaded to accept the draft.
He also predicted that political parties will remain in the wilderness for many coming years, and may have to step aside for Gen Prayut to remain as prime minister for five more years.
This is because the appointed 250 senators will work with MPs to open the door for a military prime minister, while political parties will be allowed to have some share in power as in the period when Gen Prem Tinsulanonda was prime minister from 1980 to 1988, which was described as an era of half-baked democracy, Mr Somkiat said.
Meanwhile, red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship chairman Jatuporn Prompan said the UDD accepted the result of the referendum but the regime won thanks to unfair rules.
Red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship chairman Jatuporn Prompan accepts the referendum result, but complains that they are in a war they cannot win because the rules are unfair. APICHIT JINAKUL
"For those who vote 'No', you did not lose but you are in the war that you have no way to win," he said.
Jade Donavanik, an adviser to the CDC (Constitutional Drafting Committee), said the referendum outcome was the direct result of Gen Prayut's last-minute announcement to accept both the draft charter and the extra question.
It was regrettable, he said, that people voted based on political grounds, rather than on the basis of how good or bad the draft charter's contents were.
The plus-side was that people had a clear mandate denouncing corruption and were convinced Gen Prayut was sincere in materialising national reforms. They also wanted to have a general election and to see the country return to normalcy.
Sunday updates
20:00 With almost 95 percent of the national voted counted, it is clear that the "yes" vote will prevail for both the referendum on the draft constitution and the role of the senate in choosing a prime minister. There are significant regional differences, however. As the vote count ends, it appears that the opposition stronghold of the Northeast has narrowly voted "no" and the "yes" vote is only slightly ahead in the North. The "yes" vote is strong in the rest of the country, however, with the exception of the deep South.
A closer look at the North reveals the region is quite divided. Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lamphun, Phrae and Phayao voted "no," while Mae Hong Son, Uttaradit, Nan and Lamphang voted "yes." In the Northeast, 15 of the region's 18 provinces voted "no".
Interestingly, the heaviest vote against the referendum issues came in the three southernmost provinces, Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala where about 60 percent voted "no".
18:50 With most votes now counted, the unofficial results stand at 62 percent "yes" and 38 percent "no" for the draft charter. For the new senate role, the "yes" vote is less than 60 percent.
17:50: Results are coming in quickly and, as predicted, the "yes" vote has a comfortable lead for both issues to be decided in the referendum. There are significant regional differences are, however, with northeasterners tending to vote "no" and southerners giving a strong "yes".
Voting ends in referendum
Voting has ended in a national referendum to decide whether to accept or reject a draft constitution and whether, in certain situations, senators can take part in choosing the prime minister.
Unofficial results are expected at around 9.p.m. Around 50 million Thais were eligible to vote.
As soon as the polling stations, closed Nida (the National Institute of Development Administration) released the results of a telephone poll of 5800 voters around the country, indicating surprisingly strong support for the draft constitution and clear but narrower support for the senate vote on a future prime minister. 76.8 percent said they voted "yes" for the draft and 58 percent for the senate empowerment.
A second poll, the Bangkok poll from Bangkok University taken before the vote, put nationwide support for the "yes" vote at 57 percent.
Election Commission Chairman Supachai Somcharoen said voter turnout was high and their were no major disruptive events.
During the last hour of voting much of Bangkok was battered by a rain storm and heavy winds, making it difficult for late voters to reach polling stations.
Photos from earlier in the day
Voting began at 8am and Suthep Thuagsuban, a strong supporter of the draft constitution, made sure he was first in line at his polling station in Surat Thani. SEKSAN ROJJANAMETAKUL
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha voted in the morning, long before the afternoon rains. PHRAKRIT JUNTAWONG
As usual, there was great media interest in former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra who spoke briefly after casting her ballot. APICHIT JINAKUL
Former prime minister Abhisit Vejajiva also drew a media crowd. PATTARACHAI PREECHAPANICH
A severe disability did not stop this voter from exercising his right in Nonthaburi. WICHAN CHAROENKIAPAKUL
A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in the Samsen Nai area of Bangkok. THANARAK KHUNTON
