Poll: majority doubt constitutional reform will improve Thai politics

The government of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, in an apparent nod to widespread student protests, has agreed inprinciple to amend Thaland’s Constitution. But according to a survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll, a slim majority of Thais are not confident that constitutional amendments will improve Thai politics. The poll was conducted August 3-4 on 1,255 people aged 18 and over, of various education levels and occupations across the country.

Asked whether they knew that a public referendum is required to amend Section 256 of the Constitution, paving the way for a council set up to draft a new charter, a majority – 75.2% – said they didn’t know, while 24.8% said they did.

Regarding overall opinion on the current proposal for constitutional amendments, 35.1% said Section 256 should be amended first to enable the setting up of a Constitution drafting council; 33.9% believed the Constitution should be amended section by section; 13.9% thought the Constitution should not be amended; and 17% had no answer or weren’t interested.

When asked whether they were confident Thai politics would improve if the Constitution is amended, 53.3% said they were were uncertain, with 27.3% saying they were not confident at all, reasoning that changing the Constitution alone is not enough to make an improvement. and 26% were “not particularly confident”, saying the Constitution has been amended many times before but problems in Thai politics remain.

On the other hand, 23% said they were moderately confident because the new Constitution would come from the people, while 21.3% were highly confident, saying the new Constitution would emphasise people’s participation, and that would help reduce conflict.

The remainder, 2.3%, had no answer or were not interested.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post