Thailand's army-installed government declared victory yesterday in a referendum on a new constitution, and vowed to hold general elections by year's end to restore democracy following last September's coup.
Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont claimed victory after exit polls showed a majority of voters had approved the charter.
"We consider that this constitution has been approved by the people, and by the end of August the constitution will be submitted to the king for endorsement," Surayud said on national television.
PHOTO: AFP
"Overall, the turnout was more than 50 percent. I thank the Thai people for coming out to exercise their vote," he said.
Yesterday's vote was the first test at the ballot box for the ruling junta, which ousted elected premier Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup.
Junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said he was "satisfied" with the result.
Surayud, who had said the country's first-ever referendum would help put the nation back on track after more than a year of turmoil, said that approval of the charter meant general elections would be held by year's end.
"I reaffirm that the election will be held late this year. The exact date is still under consideration, but I believe the most suitable date is after the king's birthday [on Dec. 5]," he said.
The prime minister spoke about 30 minutes after polling stations had closed. Early returns showed that with 14 percent of ballots counted, more than 58 percent had approved the charter.
Exit polls showed that about 68 percent had approved the charter, with about two-thirds of Thailand's 45 million voters cast ballots.
Although the military has insisted the charter will clear a path to elections, critics say it will return control of government to traditional power centers in the military, the bureaucracy and the royal palace.
All three institutions have played key roles in most of Thailand's turbulent political history, which has seen 24 prime ministers and 18 coups over the last 75 years.
Thaksin, who since the coup has lived in exile in Britain where he has bought the Manchester City soccer club, has called the draft "fruit from a poisoned tree."
His allies who led the campaign against the charter accepted their defeat, but said the referendum had failed to meet democratic standards.
"Government officials have misled the people by telling them there would be no elections if the constitution did not pass. They restricted the freedom of expression of people in the areas under martial law," said Chaturon Chaisang, one-time leader of the ousted and banned Thai Rak Thai party.
Half the country has been under martial law since the coup, while a new law threatened prison for anyone convicted of obstructing the referendum.
Voting proceeded smoothly except for in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, where a separatist insurgency is raging and two people were injured in a bombing.
Political analysts said that Thais were less concerned with the content of the charter then with ensuring that the military sticks with its promise to hold elections this year.
"By voting yes, Thai people sent a clear message to the junta that they want elections in December," said Panitan Wattanayagorn from Chulalongkorn University.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number