From the internet edition of the Bangkok Post:
Referendum campaign launched
More than 10,000 people, including students and government officials, from all districts in Nakhon Ratchasima marched in Korat yesterday as a nationwide campaign began urging people to vote in the Aug 19 constitutional referendum.
UPDATE: And what about this hot air from the junta’s Public Relations Department:
A major campaign will be stepped up to raise public awareness of the need for people to cast their votes on the draft charter in the August 19 national referendum. Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office Thirapat Serirangsan said that the Government would hold a “Democracy Festival” to promote the referendum and the people’s participation in the next general election, which is scheduled for the end of the year… Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont will preside over the opening ceremony on August 3, when he will announce a declaration on the development of Thai politics. … A total of 2,550 balloons with a message of democracy will be released and sent aloft. A total of 10,000 sets of exhibitions to promote the referendum are being sent for display in all provinces from August 3 to 5. The run to carry a democracy declaration flag, which started on 1 July 2007, is making its way across the country. … The Prime Minister would like to see more than half the country’s 45 million eligible voters cast their ballots in the August 19 referendum. Ballot papers allow voters to either accept or reject the 2007 constitution. He said that, if most people accepted the charter, a meeting would be held to set the election date, so that political parties would have time to prepare their election campaigns.
In other words, vote “yes” or you won’t get an election!
3 responses so far ↓
1 Vichai N // Aug 2, 2007 at 9:21 pm
“In other words, vote “yes” or you won’t get an election!” – Andrew W.
Andrew Walker and the Red Shirts are REALLY not that intimidated too easily by PM Surayud of all people or by that bungling General Sonthi. Andrew Walker cannot just resist to invoke dark meanings to harmless sentences from Surayud or Sonthi, as usual.
The Thai people will vote YES or NO according to what they ’sense’ are good or bad for their economic well-being and sense of personal and family security.
Except for the TRT red shirts. Those TRT red shirts have been cultured to behave a certain way during election time. Because all those TRT party men are already too busy dealing and bargaining to be included in the election or be part of the potential winning ‘coalition’, that red shirt ranks respond accordingly. And I can already sense the Red Shirts pockets are bare, waiting for refills, and thus the YES vote for the Reds it must be!
When the lowly Red Shirt can see their mentors, patrons and leaders already huffing and puffing for the election to come, they quickly get the message and they agree. Election cash social welfare benefit happy-days are here again hep-hep-hurray! Of course YES!
I am therefore not hopeful that my NO will prevail in the next referendum.
2 Grasshopper // Aug 3, 2007 at 11:14 am
Vichai, while now I am quite sure how I should judge all the other posters on here thanks to your perceptions, I am not sure where you stand with what you want to happen in Thailand. Maybe a farang just wouldn’t understand?
*forms a boy band*
3 observer // Aug 3, 2007 at 8:19 pm
If they want to increase the number of votes, they could just allow rural people to exercise their voting rights in their place of residence, rather than having to return to their home provinces. But I suspect these aren’t the votes they want to increase.
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