Phuket votes “yes’ to new Constitution

PHUKET: In yesterday’s national referendum of the draft constitution, Phuket residents overwhelmingly accepted the new charter with 88.9% of all those voting in favor compared to just 9.6% opposed.

The remaining ballots, just under 1.5%, were deemed as spoiled.

The official results were posted by the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) on a board outside the PEC counting center at Saphan Hin Gymnasium 3 about 7:30 pm last night.

Turnout for the referendum, the first of its kind in Thailand’s history, was slightly below the target figure 60%.

Some 57.6% of the island’s 215,433 registered voters found their way to the polls yesterday, despite heavy rains throughout much of the day and the fact that the island’s many entertainment establishments were operating as usual.

Island-wide figures had 109,493 in favor of the new charter and just 11,878 opposed, with 1,812 spoiled ballots.

In Muang district, 73,519 of the 130,805 registered voters (56.2%) cast ballots, with 65,044 voters in favor and 7,468 opposed. There were also 1,007 spoiled ballots.

In Kathu district, 17,272 of the 30,556 registered voters (56.5%) cast ballots, with 15,254 in favor and 1,797 opposed. There were also 221 spoiled ballots.

In Thalang district, 32,392 of the 54,072 registered voters (59.9%) cast ballots, with 29,195 voters in favor and 2,613 opposed. There were 584 spoiled ballots.

The results were hardly surprising after the Democrat Party, which has long held sway in Phuket and most other southern provinces, came out in favor of a “yes” vote in the run-up to the polling.

Nationwide, the charter passed with 57.6% in favor and 42.1% opposed.

A total of 25,978,954 voters (57.6%) of the kingdom’s 45,093,055 eligible voters exercised their right.

Opposition was highest in Isarn and the North, where voters in some provinces opposed the constitution by a wide margin.