Thais to vote on military-sponsored charter

BANGKOK, Aug 17 (Reuters) Thais vote on a military-drafted constitution few have read or understood on Sunday in a referendum expected to approve a charter that will pave the way for a return to elected government by the end of the year.

For many, the complicated fight over the charter, which takes power from politicians and hands it to bureaucrats and judges, has come down to a battle between friends and foes of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a bloodless coup.

The new constitution was designed to prevent the re-emergence of a strong, single-party government like Thaksin's, and means a return to the constantly collapsing coalitions of the early 1990s, political analysts say.

Politicians would also be suborned by the increased power of bureaucrats, as happened during the ''managed democracy'' of the 1980s under ex-army chief Prem Tinsulanonda, now chief royal adviser and seen by the Thaksin camp as the coup mastermind.

''Thaksin has obviously been on the mind of the drafters, so what has come out is an attempt to prevent the rise of a second Thaksin, hence making it difficult for people to get elected,'' said former senator Kraisak Choonhavan, a Thaksin opponent.

Few believe an anti-charter campaign, spearheaded by Thaksin supporters but including some foes, will succeed in voting it down, but a low turnout would be an embarrassment for the generals who deposed him in a bloodless coup last September.

''The chances are high that the referendum will pass and the reason is because the government and the military have all the powers in their hands,'' said political science professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

As in most Thai elections, allegations of vote buying and strong-arm tactics are flying.

The military council behind the coup and the government it appointed are striving to get at least 60 per cent of the 45 million voters to cast ballots, arguing the new charter would provide an ''ethical'' and ''legitimate'' democracy.

Coup leaders have enlisted 400,000 military personnel to persuade people to back the draft charter, branded by Thaksin -- for whom the Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant on corruption charges -- as ''fruit of the poisonous tree''.

The Interior Ministry has instructed governors of all 76 provinces to order 80,000 village chiefs to get as many people as possible to the polling booths and awards will be given to the governors whose province have the highest turnouts.

Thousands of anti-charter letters and VCDs have been handed out in northern and central provinces, strongholds of Thaksin's disbanded Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party, the Bangkok Post reported today.

Opponents of the draft, who deny the charges, are accused of paying people to vote ''No'' or stay at home.

Still, government and election officials say privately they are sure the draft will sail through the referendum, a result the generals and the government promise will lead to a general election in December.

If it doesn't pass, the coup council and the government will have to pick one of the 17 past constitutions, revise it and promulgate it within 30 days, according to the interim charter under which they are operating.

''They will surely revise it in a way that serves the same aims and objectives of the draft that they have now basically to try to reduce executive powers, reduce power of politicians and elected politicians and ministers,'' Thitinan said.

That prospect may prompt people to vote for the draft, rather than face the unknown, in hopes the constitution will be amended by the government once it is elected.

''We have no choice whether we like the current draft or not,'' said Kamta Kanboonchan, a farmer activist who works for Thaksin in the northeast. ''Our hands are tied and it is a one-sided bout.'' REUTERS LPB SSC1420