Southeast Asia

Aug 22, 2007

Democratic affirmation for Thai junta

Thailand's highly anticipated national referendum on a military-drafted and less democratic constitution went according to the ruling junta's long-term political plan on Sunday. Official results released show a landslide victory for the junta, with nearly 57% of Thai voters approving and 41% voting against the charter.

The democratic result firms up the Council for National Security's political legitimacy and paves the way for the military to follow through on its promise to hold new democratic polls by

December.

Sunday's concentration of "no" votes in the pivotal northeastern region signals that the military has not fully consolidated its power in the rural heartland, where ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is still popular and several newly formed parties are expected to compete vigorously for votes on similar populist platforms.

At the same time, the new charter effectively institutionalizes a future role for the military in Thai politics and legally absolves junta leaders for their roles in executing last year's extra-constitutional coup.

Asia Times Online presaged the referendum's result and the new constitution's broad political significance, including in relation to the royal succession, in an article by Southeast Asia Editor Shawn W Crispin published on July 27, Toward a less democratic Thailand.

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(24 hours to 11:59 pm ET, Aug 20, 2007)

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