Despite only three days until the historic August referendum, many voters in the south of Thailand have not yet received a full copy of the draft charter. A southern referendum watchdog said the booklets from the junta-appointed charter drafters distort actual contents of the draft.
On Thursday, 4 August 2016, Mansot Mateh, President of Network of Referendum Monitoring Groups of Border Provinces, told media that most people in southern Thailand have not received the full version of the draft charter, which will be voted on in the 7 August referendum. Matichon Online reported.
According to Matichon Online, the network has contacted the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) and found that it has published only a million copies of the draft, meaning that the other 50 millions voters across the country will not have a chance to read through the draft before the referendum. The network also condemned the booklets from the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), which have been widely distributed, for distorting actual contents of the draft.
“The booklets (from the CDC) don’t give much information and distort some specific content in the draft. For example, the booklet’s sections on education and healthcare services are different from the actual text of the draft. The network sees this as an attempt to conceal the truth. By not distributing the draft copies, the junta is disrespecting the voters who own the country’s sovereign power,” Matichon Online quoted Mansot as saying.
The Network of Referendum Monitoring Groups of Border Provinces, is a referendum watchdog in southern Thailand comprising of 34 civil society organizations from six provinces including Songkhla, Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Satun, and Phatthalung.
