IT’S RAINING DOGS AND MONKEYS

Monkeys in Phichit sit idly in front of a board used to display lists of elgible voters after they tore 12 pages of them on July 24.

Who needs Godzilla when you have dogs and monkeys to do outrageous things. Apparently, a troop of some 100 monkeys showed up last month to tear up the list of eligible voters displayed at a Phichit temple. And though a local village chief tried to catch them, he failed and was left to deal with 12 shredded pages of the list on the floor.

Luckily, the local Election Commission (EC) office placated the marauding monkeys with fruit baskets and replaced the lists – now behind glass.

In Chaiyaphum, police learned that tail-wagging, barking culprits were behind the shredding of another set of lists. Apparently, a local pack of dogs had had great fun tearing apart the lists from a board that had been knocked down in a storm. A new list was printed and guards stationed nearby to keep a close eye on things.

KEEP IT OUT OF CHILDREN’S REACH

Crumpled pieces of shredded lists were found under a displaying board in Roi Et on July 24. It is later discovered that a nine-year-old boy is the one committing the ’crime’.

Sometimes children should not just be kept away from pesticides and other poisonous things. A police superintendent of Kamphaeng Phet’s Khanu Woralaksaburi district ended up losing his job for failing to report that two grade 2 schoolgirls had torn up the pink coloured list. No charges were filed against the girls because they are far too young.

Similarly in Roi Et province, a nine-year-old boy was also caught tearing up the lists. Police interrogated him and his mother and allowed them to stay home, only for his teacher to learn the following morning that the two had fled the village. It is believed that the mother chose to disappear for fear of facing charges.

HOT TEMPERS BURN PAPERS

25-year-old Natthawut Boonma reenacts his alleged crime of tearing lists of eligible voters under watchful eyes of the Rayong police on July 26.

While little kids enjoy tearing paper, teenagers prefer to go even further and burn them. A 16-year-old in Khon Kaen province was caught burning the lists, apparently to keep mosquitoes away. Unfortunately, the poor fellow ended up being charged with violating the referendum law and destroying other people’s belongings.

Similarly, a 25-year-old in Rayong thought it would be a good idea to roll a joint with the list paper, until he was arrested and learnt the hard way that it wasn’t. Four middle-school students in the same province were also found burning the list papers just for fun.

SAY NO TO AMERICA “NO”

The controversial “Ga No” coffee.

Police confiscated almost 50 flags with the words “Ga No” adorning both sides of a street in Si Sa Ket. Reason? The word “Ga No” in Thai can mean “choosing no”, which allegedly violates the referendum law as it can influence voters. The police, however, later learnt that “Ga No” was a brand of coffee and the flags had been put to up promote the brew, not influence the coming vote.

ROASTED WHEN TRYING TO PROVE POINTS

Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn breaks the “high endurance” plastic ballot box when he flings it for the fourth time

Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn wanted to demonstrate to the public how secure the materials being used in the plebiscite are. Sadly, he was only able to prove they were rather fragile. The first item was the plastic ballot box, which can apparently last up to 10 years. Yet Somchai managed to break the “high endurance” box when he flung it for the fourth time.

Similarly a reporter managed to easily pull off a plastic band that was designed to bind the ballot box tightly.

YOU CAN’T DO THAT, BUT WE DON’T KNOW IF WE DID

The Election Commission distributes 20 million of pamphlets on the referendum amid controversy of alleged distortions against the draft’s original contents.

The referendum law clearly stipulates that anybody found distorting the draft charter’s content will be punished. Yet, ironically, the EC – which is in charge of enforcing this law – learned that that much of the content in its own pamphlets explaining the draft charter is exaggerated and even omits several controversial points on the parliamentary structure.

Although the EC has remained quiet on the matter, the drafters said they only wanted to put the content in “the simplest way” for people to understand.

When this issue was brought to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s attention, he only said “I acknowledged it, but didn’t read it. It’s not my business.”

DO YOU EVEN WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW?

Local administrators in Nan on August 1 give lectures to local officers assigned to look over the referendum situation

In a bid to boost public knowledge about the draft and the referendum, the authorities have opted for several platforms – ranging from oral explanations in rural areas to posting information online. Yet the public still seems to be misinformed. Just 1 million copies of the draft were printed despite there being more than 50 million eligible voters, not to mention the fact that people are far too afraid to discuss the subject openly due to the junta’s many bans.

Several local administrators, assigned by the Interior Minister to educate people in their areas, told The Nation that they didn’t dare provide too much of an explanation for fear that they might accidentally influence the vote and thus violate the referendum law.

MARTIAL LAW LIFTED? REALLY?

Six members of the New Democracy Movement walk out from Bangkok Remand Prison on July 6 after being released from charges of breaking the junta’s banning of political gathering of more than four people.

Despite claims of the martial law imposed after the coup being lifted more than a year ago, the junta is still imposing a ban on political gatherings of five or more people. Members of the New Democracy Movement were charged for violating the order when they distributed pamphlets explaining why they thought the draft should be rejected. A journalist landed himself in trouble for being present at the event, not to mention the red-shirt figures who were detained for trying to open anti-fraud centres.

Yet the junta-led government insists that it has opened spaces for people to discuss the vote freely.

A “POLITICALLY MATURE” MOVE FROM ABHISIT

Not even a month before their splits on the draft, Abhisit Vejjajiva is still seen giving birthday present to his influential ex-deputy Suthep Thaugsuban,both smiling

Be it as a former premier or as a Democrat leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva has tried to prove his integrity by not depending on others, such as his influential former deputy Suthep Thaugsuban.

While Suthep, who now leads a “politics free” foundation, continues broadcasting messages supporting the draft charter, Abhisit has steadfastly stood against it, saying it does not fight graft, suggesting that the next participatory draft should be led by Prayut if this one fails.

Also this is the first time that Abhisit and his arch-enemies ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra and Pheu Thai member and red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan have taken the same stance.

THE JUNTA PROMISED A DEMOCRATIC DRAFT CHARTER

The junta promised a democratic draft charter

The Nation will simply leave this to the readers’ judgement.