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Published on July 16, 2007

More than 57 per cent of those surveyed by Assumption Univer-sity's Abac Poll said they agreed with the final draft, compared with almost 23 per cent who disagreed and 20 per cent who gave no comment. However, 82 per cent of respondents said they did not know when the referendum would take place, according to the survey released yesterday.

The survey was conducted on 3,146 people aged 18 and over in 12 major provinces from July 5-14. The provinces included Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Songkhla.

The majority agreed with the main content of the draft charter, although many people refused to disclose their preferences and preferred to remain "a silent force", said Noppadon Kannikar, director of the university's Centre for Social Innovation in Management and Business Analysis.

When asked about 17 key items in the charter, such as an eight-year limit on a prime minister's time in office and relaxed rules on citizens' rights to propose new laws or impeach political office holders, most respondents agreed with the provisions. The rate of approval ranged from 55.9 to 95.5 per cent, while the vote of disapproval ranged from 4 to 37.9 per cent.

Of those surveyed, 88 per cent said they were aware of the significance of the constitution as the paramount law of the country, while the remaining 12 per cent said they were unaware of its importance.

Meanwhile, a network of non-government organisations, led by former senator Jon Ungphakorn, yesterday announced its decision to reject the draft constitution in the referendum.

Jon told a press conference that although the draft addressed "more progressive" issues than the previous constitution of 1997, his group agreed that the new charter "does not genuinely encourage social and political reform and ignores several legitimate political rights of the citizens".

The People's Council for Political Reform yesterday issued a statement in support of the charter. It said that although there were some flaws in the draft, it was worth support in the referendum. The group called for the government formed after the next election to amend the constitution "to pave the way for genuine political reform".