Thai constitutional referendum, 2007

Do you approve or disapprove of the draft constitution?

Cover of draft distributed to all households

Date

19 August 2007

Results
	Votes	%
Approve	14,727,306	7001578100000000000♠57.81%
Disapprove	10,747,441	7001421900000000000♠42.19%
Valid votes	25,474,747	7001980600000000000♠98.06%
Invalid or blank votes	504,207	7000194000000000000♠1.94%
Total votes	25,978,954	100.00%
Registered voters/turnout	45,092,955	7001576100000000000♠57.61%

Results by provinces

Approve — Disapprove

On the map, the darker shades for a colour indicate a larger margin.

Thailand

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A referendum on the new constitution was held in Thailand on 19 August 2007.^[1] Had the draft been rejected, the military government would have had the freedom to choose any previous constitution to adapt and promulgate instead. The turnout was around 60%.^[2]

Proposed changes

Major changes in the proposed constitution included the following:^[3]

Making almost half of Senators appointed rather than elected.
Limiting the Prime Minister to 2 four-year terms.
Banning the Prime Minister from major holdings in private companies.
Making it easier to impeach the Prime Minister and other ministers.

The military government announced that each household in the country would be sent a copy of the new constitution ahead of the referendum.^[3] A poll from July had seen a majority of voters in favour.^[4] However, in many cases "yes" votes were not real indicators of support for the new text but rather for quick elections, as the ruling Council for National Security (CNS) has stated that approval of the new constitution was a requirement for holding parliamentary elections later that year.^[5]

Results

Choice	Votes	%
For	14,727,306	57.81
Against	10,747,441	42.19
Invalid/blank votes	504,207	–
Total	25,978,954	100
Registered voters/turnout	45,092,955	57.61
Source: Direct Democracy

By region

Region	For		Against		Turnout (%)
Region	Votes	%	Votes	%	Turnout (%)
Central	5,714,973	66.53	2,874,674	33.47	57.72
South	3,214,506	88.30	425,883	11.70	59.31
Northeast	3,050,182	37.20	5,149,957	62.80	54.39
North	2,747,645	54.47	2,296,927	45.53	62.06
Total	14,727,306	57.81	10,747,441	42.19	57.61

By province

There were considerable differences in the approval rates between the regions of Thailand. In six provinces of Southern Thailand (Chumphon, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Ranong), the approval topped 90%. On the other hand, in 24 provinces in Northern and Northeastern Thailand there was a majority against the draft. In two provinces in the far Northeast (Nakhon Phanom, Roi Et), the rejection even topped 75%.

References

↑ Panel passes final draft of new Thai constitution, paving way for referendum, elections Associated Press, 6 July 2007
↑ Thai voters 'approve new charter' BBC News, 19 August 2007
1 2 Thai draft constitution approved BBC News, 6 July 2007
↑ Thais Would Approve New Constitution Angus Reid Global Monitor, 27 July 2007
↑ McCargo, Duncan (2008), "Thailand: State of Anxiety", Southeast Asian Affairs 2008, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 338

Elections and referendums in Thailand

General elections	1933 1937 1938 1946 1948 1952 1957 (Feb) 1957 (Dec) 1969 1975 1976 1979 1983 1986 1988 1992 (Mar) 1992 (Sep) 1995 1996 2001 2005 2006 2007 2011 2014 next

Senate elections	2000 2006 2008 2014

Local elections	2006

Referendums	2007 2016

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