After a coup last September effectively abolishing the national government, Thailand's population this weekend has voted on whether or not to adopt a new constitution, with 57.8% of all voters choosing to accept the new government framework.While the government is calling the acceptance of the constitution a success, the 57.8% "yes" vote — with only 57.6% voter turnout — is not particularly encouraging by any standard. This vote was more of a formality than anything else: a kind of "should we move forward or not?" slam-dunk vote. The fact that more than 40% of people who voted choose to reject the new constitution hints at the power that exiled ex-Prime Minister Thaksin (who urged a vote against the constitution) still wields over the rural and agrarian population in the Northeast of Thailand. Additionally, the 40% of people who did not bother to vote (in a country where voter turnout is normally very high) also suggests apathy... or possibly even some hostility... towards the new government's efforts.
The upshot of this vote result is that while the leaders of the coup may have been successful in chasing out Thaksin and his government, they do not enjoy a large base of support amongst the general population, and could very likely be voted out of office (possibly by many of the same people whom they themselves ejected) and lose their power in the upcoming elections this December.
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