Election Day

It's hard to believe that we've been living under marshal law since last October. The military is still very much in charge in Thailand though there have been massive protests by Thai Rak Thai and previous prime minister (Thaksin Shinawatra) supporters. On Sunday, August. 19th the Thai people will vote on a new constitution. It was drafted by mainly military leaders and it is completely up in the air whether the people will pass it or vote it down. One of the biggest problems with the new constitution is that a large percentage of the legislature will be appointed rather than elected. One of the amazing things about this process has been how involved people have been and also how the issue has helped to educate many Thai citizens on the governement and electoral processes. Every Thai citizen received a copy of the proposed draft charter in their mailbox. Many of the points were spelled out clearly and explained in plain langauge. People are very impassioned about this issue. Coming from a country that has had one, all-powerful constitution, it is interesting to witness the Thai government which has had more than a dozen constitutions in the past century. On the one hand, it would appear that the people see these documents as dispensible and easily refutable. Yet, I can't help but feel that this sort of process really demonstrates that governance should be malleable and should bend to the will of the people. Some of my views were deflated when Otto commented that many people will vote to pass it just because they are tired of not having a stable government and don't want to cause further delay. Either way, it will be interesting to see the results and the following election of officials.