A group of activists is filing a petition with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against the Election Commission (EC) for organising what it said was an unfair and objectionable referendum.
Srisuwan Janya, from a group calling itself the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, announced yesterday his group will petition the NACC tomorrow over the EC's failure to hold a transparent and fair referendum, which he said amounted to dereliction of duty.
Examples include the EC's failure to distribute summaries of the charter's content to every household ahead of the vote, depriving them of the ability to make an informed choice at the poll.
He also said the EC allowed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to publicly declare his stance to accept the draft charter and the extra question, which could have influenced voters' decisions.
He added the EC also rushed to announce the unofficial result when there were reasons to believe the poll may be questionable and unfair. In some polling stations, more ballots had been cast than there were people turning up to vote, he claimed.
Other "flaws" included flimsy ballot boxes and a single ballot containing two questions, which confused many voters, judging from many dud ballots and voters tearing up of ballot sheets, according to Mr Srisuwan.
Also yesterday, WeWatch coordinator Chompunut Chalieobun cited several instances of problems at polling stations.
She said the group's volunteers intervened at a Kalasin polling station where staff tried to count votes before the poll closed at 4pm.
In Chachoengsao, polling staff intended to deliver ballots to the provincial hall for counting, something that is supposed to be done at the polling station. In Bangkok, a ballot box at a polling unit was not locked during the opening of the poll, she said.
Ms Chompunut said it was a pity no trained observers were present at the polling stations, raising questions about the transparency of the referendum.
Had observers been present, certain mistakes could have been prevented, she said.
Meanwhile, Open Forum for Democracy Foundation (PNet) lauded the peaceful nature of the referendum. However, it advised the EC to fine-tune voting procedures and deliver documents which people need to study, such as charter summaries, well ahead of a vote. It should also involve greater civic participation in the poll preparation, campaigning and monitoring process, the group said.
The voting process and supervision requires trained personnel to bring procedures up to standard, it added.
"Some poll officials checked voters' ID cards without looking up to see if the faces matched the picture on the card. Long queues were also present causing some voters to miss out," the foundation added. Although voter turnout fell short of the EC's target, all sides should respect the result, Pnet said.
Diplomats from the EU and the US were present in Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani.
Asia Foundation country representative Kim McQuay said the circumstances of the referendum made it unusual, with little opportunity extended by the authorities for frank and candid discussion of the draft constitution and its implications.
Though the Asia Foundation was one of five foreign agencies granted permission to observe the referendum, it was not a full-fledged monitoring or observation mission and had less than 10 people involved.
Meanwhile, activists from the New Democracy Movement said they accepted the people's decision in the referendum but vowed to remain faithful to their democratic ideals. Rangsiman Rome, a representative from the anti-junta group, said activists will continue voicing their opposition to the military.
Popular approval of the charter may be viewed as a stamp of legitimacy for the military, but its effects will not last unless the government lifts restrictions on basic freedoms, he argued, also calling on authorities to drop lawsuits against those accused of violating the controversial Referendum Act. The government should also listen to the voice of nearly 10 million people who voted against the proposed charter, he said.
