Current Political Situation
On September 19, 2006, Thai military forces took control of government offices in Bangkok and overthrew Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s government. The bloodless coup came after months of political turmoil, as Thaksin’s government was plagued with allegations of corruption and abuses of power. Following the coup, a ruling military junta was formed and an interim constitution imposed, outlining a one-year transitional period to draft a new permanent constitution and hold a constitutional referendum before the end of 2007. The Constitution Drafting Assembly, a body chosen from the interim legislature appointed by the junta, completed a preliminary draft of a new constitution at the end of April 2007. The following month, the Assembly disseminated the draft to a number of selected state institutes and non-governmental organizations for public comment. A final draft of the charter was publicly released by the Assembly in late June, and a copy was sent to every household in Thailand. The country’s first-ever referendum was scheduled for August 19, 2007.
The participation of political parties under the constitutional drafting process was limited. Only four party representatives were admitted to the 242-seat interim legislature, and parties were hardly given any space to comment on earlier drafts of the new charter. The military junta imposed a ban on political party activity in the country until May 2007 when Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party was dissolved after the Constitutional Tribunal found the party guilty of committing severe fraud in last year’s general election.
In the run up to the referendum, state resources were used on campaigns urging citizens to vote. Three opposition parties – the Democrat Party, Chart Thai Party and Mahachon Party – formed an alliance and encouraged supporters to accept the draft. Members of the then-disbanded Thai Rak Thai party opposed a number of provisions and questioned the legitimacy of the entire process being driven by a military-backed constituent drafting assembly. However, despite this campaign to counter the new charter, Thai Rak Thai members declared they would respect the outcome of the referendum.
On August 19, close to 26 million of the 45 million eligible voters went to the polls to participate in the referendum – this turnout of 58 percent is low by Thai standards. The new charter passed with 57 percent of voters approving the new charter. The Northeastern provinces, the traditional stronghold of Thai Rak Thai, accounted for more than eight million votes, 62 percent of which rejected the draft. The Southern provinces, which largely support the Democrat Party, had the largest number of voters in favor of the new charter; of the 3.7 million voters that participated, 87 percent voted for the new constitution. Overall, the referendum was administered efficiently and was without violence. There were allegations of vote-buying and the exertion of undue influence on voters in the run up to the referendum, particularly in the North and Northeastern regions, but these allegations were not considered serious enough by the Election Commission to have affected the outcome of the vote. With the passing of the new constitution, the interim government scheduled parliamentary elections to take place on December 23, 2007.
NDI Programs
NDI has promoted democratic development in Thailand since 1994, conducting programs to strengthen civil society, political parties and democratic institutions. From 1998 to 2000, the Institute helped build the capacity of civic groups to monitor elections and conduct provincial campaigns on anti-corruption. From 2001 to 2004, NDI involved Thai political party leaders in a regional program that brought together party leaders and reformers from across Asia to share and develop strategies to combat corruption and support greater accountability and internal democracy within parties.
In October 2006, NDI conducted an assessment of the political environment in Thailand and consulted with a broad range of actors including political party members, civil society leaders and members of the military-appointed government on prospects for restoring democratic institutions. Based on the findings of this assessment, and to assist in the transition to civilian rule, NDI initiated a program in February 2007 to support broader citizen participation in political reform processes during the transitional period. The Institute is working with local civil society groups and political parties to hold regional dialogues, in urban and rural provinces, to promote more extensive citizen discussion on issues surrounding political reforms.
In the lead up to the referendum, NDI and its local partners organized a series of roundtable discussions in Chiang Mai in the North, Nakhon Si Thammarat in the South and in Bangkok, involving local civil society leaders, political party members, local business owners, members of the media, academia and members of the Constitutional Drafting Assembly. Participants of these events discussed the merits and shortcomings of the new charter and the previous constitution, the referendum process, and the organic acts on elections and political parties which will be amended after a new constitution is passed. Recommendations were made as to how the election commission, political parties and the government could ensure greater public participation in the electoral process. The findings of these discussions were shared with the Constitutional Drafting Assembly, the Election Commission and other pertinent government bodies.
Funding
NDI programming in Thailand is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Contact Information
For further information, please contact:
Raissa Tatad-Hazell, Senior Program Manager
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