On the weekend Thailand held its first-ever referendum
to decide whether to reject or endorse a new draft constitution. In brief, a
'yes' vote endorsed the new constitution that (from the BBC report): is
possibly "less democratic than the 1997 version that it replace(s)" and was drawn up by a government installed by military coup. A 'no' vote
fell roughly into two camps: supporters of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawat
(who are largely farmers in the rural provinces) or others that believe that a constitution drawn up by what is
effectively a military dictatorship simply offers no real advance in democratic terms.
Watching the TV news over the weekend, Thailand was certainly ablaze in the colour of the political parties: lime green for the current military-imposed ruling party, canary yellow for another party, whilst those advocating a 'no' vote and 'no to military rule' used very red and very eyecatching, well-designed posters. (Here too). Effective, appealing and emotionally-charged design certainly made the 'no' team's posters stand out and no-doubt helped them punch (far) above their weight.
It's probably little consolation to this team though: the 'yes' vote won around 70% of Sunday's vote. Thailand will now be getting the new constitution.
Here's a BBC report on the referendum.
Comments