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Police Throw Book at 8-Year-Olds For Tearing Pink Election Paper
KAMPHAENG PHET — Police said Friday they instructed local election officials to file charges against two 8-year-old schoolgirls who tore a voter registration list because they wanted its pink paper.
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Two Groups Opposed to Charter Undecided on Accepting Referendum Results
BANGKOK — With just two weeks to go before the charter referendum, some of its opponents say they’ve yet to decide whether to accept the outcome
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Officials Powerless to Halt Assaults on Referendum by Schoolboys, Monkeys,...
BANGKOK — To election officials tasked with vigilantly enforcing a draconian referendum law, it may have looked as though the forces of man and nature conspired against them.
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Junta’s Charter Drafters Backtrack on Debate Challenge
BANGKOK — The drafters of Thailand’s proposed constitution did an about-face on Sunday from a previous pledge to engage in a public debate with critics of their work.
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Paranoia Fueling Increasingly Surreal Crackdown, Critics Say
BANGKOK — Critics of military rule said overreactions such as arresting children for tearing a voter list and ordering a coffee brand to stop advertising because of its name, exemplifies new levels of...
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Referendum Voter List Now Monkey-Resistant
BANGKOK — Should a gang of monkeys return to terrorize a Pichit provincial polling station a second time, they’ll need thumbs to get at the pink voter lists after the fragile documents were moved into...
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Politician Faces Week-Long Interrogation on Army Base Without Lawyer
BANGKOK — A former Pheu Thai MP will be held up to seven days at an army base where soldiers will interrogate her without a lawyer present to determine whether she’s connected to undelivered letters...
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Critics Greet Abhisit’s Charter Snub With Skepticism
BANGKOK — Opponents of the draft charter reacted harshly to Wednesday’s snubbing of the proposed constitution by none other than Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.
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Elderly ‘Vote No’ Campaigner Jailed Because He Couldn’t Afford Bond
CHIANG MAI — A 63-year-old man remained imprisoned Friday, four days after he was locked up for handing out leaflets that urged people to reject the pro-junta constitution in the Aug. 7 referendum.
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Fewer Than 10 Observers From Anfrel Available for Charter Referendum
BANGKOK — An organization experienced in observing elections across Asia for years will send fewer than 10 of its staff to observe the upcoming referendum on the new constitution.
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Ad-Hoc Network Urges Public to Report on Referendum via Social Media
BANGKOK — An ad-hoc network of unofficial referendum monitors was launched Monday by six organizations in a last-minute bid to scrutinize this coming weekend’s public poll on the junta-sponsored...
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Ubon Ratchathani University Cancels Referendum Talk Under Pressure
UBON RATCHATHANI — Another public discussion of Sunday’s charter referendum has been banned, this time in the northeast at Ubon Ratchathani University.
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We Took Top Concerns About Sunday’s Referendum to Elections Officials
BANGKOK — Can people trust that the Aug. 7 referendum charter draft will be transparent, impartial and credible? Given the junta’s wielding of absolute power and its big stakes in a “successful”...
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Politicians Charged for ‘Distorting Constitution’ in Private Letters
BANGKOK — Eleven people, including former politicians and local officials, are under arrest for allegedly misrepresenting the new constitution draft that will be put to a referendum this Sunday.
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How Referendum Sunday is Supposed to Go Down, Step-by-Step
Pravit Rojanaphruk spoke to top election officials and reviewed their procedures to provide this step-by-step guide to how it's supposed to play out.
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Somchai Regrets Taunting Gravity With Ballot Box Bravado
BANGKOK — The public face of Sunday’s charter referendum said today that he regretted embarrassing himself before a national audience and launching a thousand internet memes by breaking what he...
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Donation Drive Wins Freedom for Elderly Activist Jailed 9 Days
CHIANG MAI — After spending nine days in jail because he couldn’t afford the bond money, a 63-year-old man charged with violating the referendum law walked free last night, thanks to a crowdfunding...
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Referendum: 95% Cap on Early Voting Returns Raises Alarm
BANGKOK — Some critics remain skeptical of why the Election Commission will stop publicizing electronic returns Sunday evening after 95 percent of the votes have come in.
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Authorities Anxious About Muslim Critique of Constitution Draft
BANGKOK — Governors in every province were asked Thursday to counter rumors circulating among some Muslims that their faith will not be respected in the proposed constitution being put to referendum...
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From Sauron to Shawshank, If Thailand Were a Story ….
BANGKOK — We’ve heard from the officials, politicians and pundits. With three days left before polls open, let’s consider the charter referendum’s significance in the greater national story.
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