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| In the country's first-ever referendum, voters cast 14.7 million ballots, accounting for 56.69 per cent of votes cast, to approve the charter draft. Those against totalled 41.37 per cent, or 10.7 million votes. Invalid ballots totalled 504,207, or around 1.94 per cent. Voter turnout was 57.61 per cent. His Majesty the King gave royal assent for the promulgation of the 2007 Constitution on August 24. The new charter paved the way for a flurry of activity ahead of an election campaign. This led to vigorous debate about whether junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin should enter politics. Political veteran Samak Sundaravej came out of retirement to lead the People Power Party, seen as a reinvention of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party. Samak admitted, without reservation, he was a nominee of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Some 205 ousted MPs joined the new party. The Basic Education Commission launched an experimental project for talented students from across the country to attend specialised schools designed for excellence in the teaching of science and mathematics. The government lifted the ban on the YouTube website, after it agreed to install software to block provocative clips. The producer of the offending clip, going by the pseudonym Paddidda, issued an apology for the April posting of videos deemed offensive to the monarchy. |
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