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Published on July 8, 2007

General Boonrawd Somtas, the defence minister and close confidant of the prime minister, expressed confidence yesterday that the new constitution would sail through the August 19 referendum with flying colours.

During his visit to the northeastern provinces of Ubon Ratchathani and Amnat Charoen, Boonrawd said many village leaders had told him they would help educate people about voting on the new charter.

The Constitution Drafting Assembly on Friday approved the final version for next month's national poll.

Boonrawd said the anti-charter campaign, pushed by key figures of the previous Thaksin Shinawatra regime, appeared to have lost steam, especially upcountry.

"The old power could not recruit more people to oppose the new charter. As far as I'm aware of, movements in northeastern provinces [that used to be the biggest stronghold of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party] have been rather unsuccessful to date.

"Reports that tens of thousands of people had opposed the new charter were inaccurate. These numbers were hugely inflated. The old power has found it difficult to get enough people to continue their anti-charter drive," he said.

Most people will exercise their vote in the referendum to pass the new charter, as people prefer to see the general election take place later this year, he said.

"They've been waiting and looking forward to [a peaceful resolution] and the polls. Each side is working hard so that we can hold the election sooner, in November.

"We will have finished three quarters of our job on August 19. The last quarter will be achieved when there's the general election," he said.

A smiling Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont reiterated that November 25 was the earliest possible date for the general election, noting other possible dates are December 16 or 23.

As for the referendum, Surayud said his government would not interfere with the process, but would work on increasing public awareness.

"My government has no policies dealing with the opposition to the charter spearheaded by the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship because the people will have to decide for themselves how they will cast their votes," he said.

Voter turnout should be high, as the people want to bring about the general election within this year, he said.

In Roi Et, the Constitution Drafting Assembly has launched an awareness campaign to encourage referendum votes. Local radio and cable television stations are cooperating by airing explanations of key charter provisions.

The Democrat Party said it was fully ready to contest the general election and would welcome any aspiring candidates, even junta chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin.

"Every Thai citizen with good standing can apply for Democrat membership and Sonthi can decide whether he wants to follow many former military officers into politics," party spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon said.

However, Sonthi's political future remained speculative and the party had not been in touch with him, Ong-art said.

The Democrats will meet tomorrow with former opposition partners from the Chat Thai and Mahachon parties to forge a common front regarding the new constitution.

"The crucial issue to be discussed is about the campaigning strategy for the referendum," Ong-art said.

The Democrats will propose that all sides freely air their views on the charter to help voters form their own decisions, he said.

"Voters have the right either to accept or reject the charter and no parties should exploit the referendum for self-serving gain," he said.

The Democrats want civic groups, charter writers and education institutions to use every means of communication available to clarify charter provisions and raise public awareness of the referendum, he said.

The party has suggested that lawmakers lighten certain penalties in the referendum bill and deem it appropriate to extend the deadline for registration of absentee voters to the end of this month from the original window of July 19-20.