According to preliminary results based on 94 percent of the votes counted Sunday evening it has become obvious that a majority of Thai voters have accepted the controversial military-backed constitution that will pave the way for a general election sometime next year. But even with an election on the horizon now, the new charter rather implies prolonged military control than a return to full-blown democracy in the Western sense of the word.
While voter turnout was relatively low at just over 50% and opposition was strong in the northeastern region a.k.a. Isaan, preliminary results of the Sunday referendum show that 61.4 percent nationwide voted in favour of the military-drafted charter while only 38.6 percent voted against it.
Full results are expected on Wednesday, however, the gap is wide enough not to affect the result.
A second question asking voters whether the Senate should be allowed to join the House of Representatives in selecting a prime minister also received approval, however with only 58% voting in favour of the controversial clause.

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