Thailand: New draft constitution welcomed by majority
The Election Commission (EC) of Thailand has announced that up to 61.45% of voters supported a new draft constitution while 38.55% were against as 94% of ballots at a referendum held on August 7 counted.
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According to the EC, the new draft constitution did not gain support from the northeastern region, where almost all voters rejected the document which was penned by the military administration.
In Bangkok, the “yes” vote amounted 70%.
The referendum also asked Thais to vote on whether to allow the country’s Senate to jointly vote for the prime minister along with the House of Representatives.
About 58% voted to allow the Senate to jointly vote for the Prime Minister while almost 42% rejected it,
Nearly 55% of 50.5 million voters went to the poll, nearing the 57% recorded in the 2007 referendum.
The United Nations, the US Embassy and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) sent informal observers to monitor the voting.
At a press conference, President of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) Meechai Ruchupan said it will take 3-4 months for the approved draft constitution to take effect due to required legal processes.
