NORTHEAST: Two years after the coup, urban middle-class voters and rural residents in the country's Northeast, the biggest stronghold of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, remain split on whether the junta-commissioned draft charter should be passed at the August referendum.
Businessmen and white-collar professionals think the National Council for Peace and Order has been doing a good job in restoring peace and normality, but they should be accelerating reforms they have promised as well as ensuring the passage of the draft constitution.
But many locals, farmers and activists in the region feel their rights and freedoms have been deprived during the two years of military rule and that the new charter will not improve the situation.
"We're wondering if reform could be accelerated without having to wait for the new charter. The military government has just touched upon reform of education but not yet police," said Danuch Tanterdtid, 52, owner of a primary and kindergarten school in Udon Thani.
Mr Danuch was a "reformist" and he was referring to a key issue the military regime pledged to address.
He felt the military-led administration has initiated an unanticipated move to reform the education system by dissolving a regional basic educational hub normally responsible for 100 to 200 primary schools.
The regime also nominated new people from the business and academic sectors, not just retired teachers, as members of a provincial educational board, Mr Danuch said.
"For us, we care about maintaining the reform momentum and we wish policy-makers were more serious about this," he said.
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"On police issues we only see reshuffles but not reform. But we do know that in the eyes of the world, Thailand must have elections."
Campaigners and the electorate, he said, are accustomed to the traditional way to exercise power through elections.
"So people see the referendum as a preceding step to democracy. This way, we will hopefully not see more use of Section 44. But if the charter is not passed, the current regime will easily stay on."
Nikorn Veesapen, 60, a lawyer from Ubon Ratchathani, shared a similar sentiment, saying politicians may want to vote for the referendum to secure their old jobs.
"Locals have not benefited much from the past two years [of military rule]. They still could not manage or defend their rights on land and forest as well as their household economies," said Mr Nikorn.
He was concerned the Aug 7 referendum would be "uncharted waters", ushering in another tumultuous chapter.
"The major difference from the voting process for the 1997 and 2007 charters is now voters will have to vote without being truly informed about the impact of each chapter [of the draft charter] to their lives," Mr Nikorn said.
In the past, he said, public forums were organised for people to share concerns and opinions.
Now the government is simply producing "a charter guru" to explain the document to the people, hoping the people become "enlightened and convinced" to vote in its favour.
But those loyal to Thaksin said they would never be convinced of the merits of the draft charter.
"Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's Friday speeches have always been either boring or insulting towards former leaders [Thaksin and his sister Yingluck] or the red-shirt movement," said a 47-year-old female farmer identified only as Pissamai.
She stressed that locals have been saying among themselves they would vote "No" to the regime-sponsored charter without having to wait for any advice from politicians.
"Neither the Pheu Thai Party or the UDD [United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship] have done anything for us. The locals have access to political news and they can think for themselves about what to do next," Ms Pissamai said.
She said she wanted to elect those responsible for drafting a new charter and didn't mind having to wait.
"We will see whether the people's determination to have their own representatives will eventually prevail. The people are still patiently waiting for that day."
Kridsakorn Silarak, Assembly of the Poor's adviser, said northeastern communities are knowledgeable about the draft charter.
