Majority in NE understand ‘less than 20%’ of draft charter

As many as 54.3 per cent of respondents said they understood less than 20 per cent of the draft’s content, according to survey results released yesterday by Khon Kaen University’s E-saan Centre for Business and Economic Research.

The research centre is part of the university’s faculty of management science.

Only 5.6 per cent of those surveyed said they understood between 80 and 100 per cent of the draft charter’s content. And on average the respondents said they understood only 22.9 per cent of the content. The survey was conducted between April 30 and last Friday involving 1,220 people aged 18 and older in all 20 northeastern provinces.

Almost 15 per cent of respondents said they understood between 20 and 39.9 per cent of the draft, 15.7 per cent opted for 40-59.9 per cent, and 9.6 per cent picked 60-79.9 per cent.

Regarding a question as to whether they agreed with allowing non-elected senators to vote with MPs to choose a prime minister, 56.5 per cent of the respondents said no, and the remaining 43.5 per cent said yes.

The referendum on the draft charter is scheduled for August 7.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary Grisada Boonrach yesterday instructed provincial governors and district chiefs to remain neutral in the run-up to the referendum.

Grisada led a teleconferencing session with provincial governors, district chiefs, kamnans and village heads from across the country. He was also joined at the ministry by senior officials including directors-generals and top executives from state enterprises under the ministry’s control.

During the meeting, Grisada instructed local administrators to work closely with the Constitution Drafting Commission and the Election Commission in preparation for the referendum.