A total of 1,581 people took part in the survey titled “Counting down – 15 days before the August 7 referendum”.

Around 57 per cent said the debate on the charter draft would have a “minimal to least” impact on voters’ decisions, 28 per cent said the debate had “quite a great impact to the greatest impact” and 14 per cent were not sure.

About 66 per cent believed the two major parties’ decisions on the draft would have the least impact on voters’ decision, 17 per cent said the parties’ decisions would affect voters’ decisions a lot and 15 per cent were not sure.

About 44 per cent said they would approve the charter draft, 9.8 per cent said they would vote “no”, 12 per cent said they would abstain from voting and 33 per cent were not yet sure.

In a related development, Election Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said yesterday that Thai PBS had the right to pick people to participate in the debate on the charter draft.

He said that since the Constitution Drafting Commission had refused to take part in the debate, the station did not need to heed the CDC’s opinion on who were suitable candidates for the debate.

Democrat Party legal chief Wirat Kallayasiri urged the EC and the CDC to work together on the debate to avoid confusing the public.

“The two agencies have spoken differently about the selection of debaters on the charter draft. They have to get this debate done to make people understand the content before the referendum as much as possible,” he said.

Meanwhile, relatives of the May 1992 Heroes issued a statement in which they rejected the charter draft, arguing it would pave the way for a non-elected PM.

The relatives said one of the causes of the people uprising that led to the May 1992 bloodshed were protests against a non-elected PM.

The team raided the Tambon Charng Puak municipal office and five other places after arresting Samart Kwanchai, 63, for distributing the leaflets earlier in the morning in the northern city’s Muang district.

They searched the office of the mayor, the Office of the Municipal Clerk, a residence of Kachen Jiakkachorn, the mayor of Tambon Charng Puak, and a company that is a family business of a well-known local politician.

Kachen is said to be related to Bunlert Buranupakorn, president of the Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Organisation who is reportedly on an overseas trip.

Evidence found during a search at the company was linked to letters that allegedly distorted the charter draft’s content. These included many copies of a letter distorting content of the draft, with the same type of envelope and paper as letters mailed to local residents earlier. Previously, authorities confiscated some 10,000 such letters at the Chiang Mai Postal Office.

According to unnamed employees of the company, the documents and stationery items belong to Wissarut Kananitisarn, 35, who is a close aide to a well-known Chiang Mai politician.

Wissarut, who allegedly produced and distributed the letters, had fled from Chiang Mai but was arrested in Bangkok.

During yesterday’s search, police also found a jacket, a backpack, a helmet and a pair of slippers that looked the same as ones used by a man who put letters with distorted details about the draft into postal boxes at different locations in Chiang Mai. The man’s acts were caught on security cameras.In Lampang, police and military officials also had an arrest warrant approved by the Lampang provincial court to arrest Pongpan Jirawang, 33, for attempting to cause disturbances during the upcoming public referendum.

He was arrested at a house in Tambon Banthi, in Lamphun’s Muang district.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party deputy leader Kalaya Sophonpanich said that she had not found any booklets that distorted the charter draft in the Central and Northeastern provinces. She said she visited constituents there every week and asked the party candidates and former MPs of the party who told her they had not found anything unusual. She said villagers there had a high awareness of national politics and they would have reported to the party if they had found any such booklets.

Democrat Party deputy leader Sathit Pitutecha said that former MPs of the party told him there were no booklets distributed in their provinces. Half of the constituents in the central region did not know if the charter draft would pass the referendum and most people planned to follow the advice of those whom they respected on whether to accept or reject the draft. About 70 per cent did not express their opinion, afraid of breaking the law.

Pattani Provincial Governor Suriya Amornroj yesterday led top officials in the province including 1500 students to rally on a provincial road (Pattani to Hat Yai) in the campaign to encourage voters to exercise their rights on August 7.

Meanwhile, Election Commis-sioner Supachai Somcharoen said the EC is continuing its public relations campaign to promote voting in the referendum. A major campaign will be carried out on August 4 at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok and six major provinces – Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Songkhla, Pattani and Chon Buri.

He said the EC expected a voter turnout of 80 per cent. He expressed confidence that there would not be any destruction of eligible voter lists, arson attacks, or any blocking of voters going to cast their ballots.

The Open Forum for Democracy Foundation (P-NET) yesterday issued a statement, expressing concern about liberty and public participation problems in the upcoming referendum. The statement said the public did not have the courage to freely participate in expressing varying views over the charter draft due to ambiguous laws and regulations.

Noppawan, the wife of former reporter Andrew MacGregor Marshall, was released by police after questioning.

Marshall, an outspoken critic of the Thai monarchy, argued that his wife had no involvement with his journalism and she had not taken part in the posting of the photos.

Noppawan is on a visit to Thailand with Charlie, her three-year-old son with Marshall, who was in Hong Kong yesterday.

Acting on a search warrant issued by Thon Buri Criminal Court, some 20 CSD officers confiscated a laptop computer, an iPad, flash drives, passports and other documents found in Noppawan’s Thon Buri residence. They took her, her son, and her father to the CSD headquarters.

A lawyer from the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group was not allowed to accompany Noppawan as the police explained she was not yet charged. After five hours of questioning, Noppawan was released without being charged.

The police action yesterday came a day after Marshall, via his Facebook account, shared photos, parts of translated content, and the link to an article in a German tabloid newspaper about a royal figure.

Pol Lt-General Thitirat Nongharnpitak, commander of the Central Investigation Bureau, said the photos were doctored and imported to an online platform by Marshall and two Thai accomplices.

He said police were convinced Noppawan was not involved with her husband’s action.

He said police also found that Marshall and Noppawan had travelled to neighbouring countries to join anti-royal groups there. He added that police are watching closely more than 30 people involved with such a movement.

The spokesman for the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order, Colonel Piyapong Klinpan, said the junta was monitoring the matter.

Marshall, meanwhile, argued that his wife Noppawan was never involved in his activities.

“If Thai police believe that I have broken Thai law, they should seek my extradition to Thailand via legitimate international legal channels,” he said in a Facebook message yesterday. “It is unacceptable to harass an innocent woman simply because she is married to me.”

He told Agence France-Presse: “We’d always been concerned that it might be dangerous for my wife to visit Thailand especially since the military coup but she hadn’t seen her family for a couple of years.”

Marshall also stressed that he had nothing to do with the photographs in question as they were taken in Germany and published by a newspaper there.

Noppawan told police yesterday that she had urged her husband to stop criticising the monarchy but that he did not listen to her. The last time she met him was three months ago in Scotland, she said.

Marshall, a former Reuters reporter, is the author of a banned book on the Thai monarchy. Noppawan was also previously associated with Reuters but gave up journalism.

In a separate development, Military Court prosecutors yesterday indicted Patnaree Charnkit, the mother of Resistant Citizen group leader Sirawit Sereethiwat, on charges of lese majeste and violating the Computer Crime Act.

However, they postponed her handover to the Bangkok Military Court until August 1, as she did not show up at the court yesterday.

Her lawyers told the prosecutors that Patnaree, aka Nuengnuj, had just learned about the prosecutors’ decision to indict her late in the afternoon. They did not expect such a decision because the police investigators had earlier resolved not to pursue the case against the woman.

On Facebook, Somluck Srimalee posted a picture of the booklet with key points of the constitution draft and wrote: “Got it finally. I’ve been waiting for so long.”

She had often in the past shared the http://www.parliament.go.th link for friends who wanted to study the constitution draft.

On Twitter, @bkksnow wrote: “For this referendum, the people have campaigned and shared information more than the EC [Election Commission]. It’s not worth the Bt3 billion budget.”

The EC’s website is http://www.ect.go.th.

Besides the mainstream media, which summarised, discussed and explained the issues related to the charter draft, the website Prachamati.org was launched in May by NGOs Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw), online newspaper Prachatai, Thaipublica news agency and the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies. They allow people to express their opinions on the constitution draft. Also on its Facebook page, it gives information about the referendum.

@way_magazine also shared @iLawclub’s cartoons explaining the “additional question” on the power of senators in the transitional period.

@xing9519007: “We should study the charter draft first, Exo [music band] can wait.”

@eveiseve: “The referendum day is drawing near. I still don’t know the pros and cons clearly. I don’t know what will be the consequences either way. I studied [the charter draft] but I’m still confused.”

@vora1000: “The referendum will have an impact on the legal cases of cheaters.”

@ppjungsis: “I don’t know which way I should vote in the referendum. Neither is good.”

@kwangbenotdeer: “I and my mother have started to quarrel on the referendum.”

@poppy_kung: “We received the letter on the national referendum. Once my father started talking on politics, I just picked up the food and went to my room.”

@chanittha3: “I want to vote in the referendum.”

@Giftsdwc: “Actually I registered for the absentee vote at almost midnight on the last day. Lucky that my dad told me to.”

@GuGlang: “It’s too late now. I cannot cast an absentee vote.”

@zc_mezo: “The referendum is on August 7, do I need to go home [in provinces]? Will my mom let me?”

@i_uppum: “[The charter draft] is so complicated. But please don’t be tired of reading. I think the media have hardly promoted this issue.”

She also wrote to her friends: “There will be an election shortly. But we have to vote in the referendum first before we know if there will be an election. Hahaha.”

@Spicy_DP: “Right, our peers have never voted since we were 18. I prefer money. Can I skip the referendum? Hahaha… I prefer an election.”

@P_patana: “Were the kids to be blamed for ripping the referendum document? I don’t want to write this but who should be responsible for keeping the documents?”

@JanewitC: “Black comedy – police charged two eight-year-old girls for ripping off the eligible voters’ name list. They confessed that the pink paper was so attractive.”

@Mnakin: “Some adults who ripped the constitution got power, but the kids who ripped the eligible voters’ name list could face jail term, one friend said.”

People like Aunt Jew from Pathum Thani province will continue watching the station online. Aged in her 60s, Aunt admits she is quite naive about the Internet.

“Someone will send the links [to the station’s shows] via Line, and I can watch it on YouTube,” she said.

“Really, as a die-hard red shirt, I know what to do with or without the station. It is just a station. No matter what happens, my ideology stays the same. And I’ve already decided how I’m voting on referendum day.”

When the fate of the station was uncertain on Thursday, hundreds of red-shirt supporters including Aunt Jew gathered at the Imperial World department store in Lat Phrao, the location of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) and Peace TV, to give moral support.

The red-shirt propaganda satellite channel was suspended for criticising the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and allegedly instigating conflicts that caused divisions in society.

The station will remain off the air for a month unless the Supreme Administrative Court grants an injunction against the NBTC order.

In the meantime, Peace TV executives including UDD leader Jatuporn Prompan will televise shows online including via Facebook Live.

Although worried many fans will not be able to access content online immediately, Jatuporn has expressed confidence the station’s supporters will adapt to the change.

He and other Peace TV executives instructed the station’s reporters to keep producing content as usual.

A reporter at Peace TV, who did not want attribution, said: “We [reporters] are not really impacted. Though the news will not be aired via television, we still have other alternative channels like Twitter, YouTube or Facebook.”

She believes YouTube will be a prime channel to broadcast shows, and she is confident Peace TV will still be viewed by a lot of people as many people already watch it online.

Another key UDD figure, TV host Thida Thavornseth, agreed the suspension was not overly worrisome because all Peace TV’s hosts had an online presence.

“We can still do it online via Facebook Video or Facebook Live. We have quite a number of followers,” she said.

Jatuporn said he had been telling viewers for a while to get access to YouTube and Facebook. He did not believe the station would lose large numbers of viewers.

EC president Supachai Somcharoen said the agency learned that lists being displayed at polling stations had been burnt, torn off or stolen in Bangkok, Chaiyaphum, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Satun and Suphan Buri.

Supachai said the local election officials in those provinces had already filed police complaints in response to the incidents.

A number of suspects have been arrested and the EC believes some of the incidents could have been the work of thrill-seeking youngsters, or were possibly politically motivated, he added.

“The number of cases involved is minimal when compared to the almost 100,000 polling stations that we have,” the chief of the electoral agency said.

Incidents in which voter lists were damaged have occurred before in the run-up to general elections, he said, adding, “There were even more cases [in the past] than this time. Sometimes political canvassers removed the posted lists for some reason.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday said there were no signs that the voter-list incidents in the eight provinces had been carried out in concert.

“There was no clear [coordinated] move of trying to disrupt the referendum or causing unrest,” he said.

The deputy PM also said the authorities were “getting closer” to the people behind the allegedly fake copies of the draft constitution that had been distributed in some provinces, but he did not elaborate.

The National Council for Peace and Order is not unduly concerned about the recent incidents involving the destruction of voter lists, junta spokesman Colonel Piyapong Klinphan said yesterday.

“They are only small incidents. The situation for the whole country remains calm,” he said, adding that the authorities have been on the lookout for troublemakers, although they may have missed some incidents.

In Satun, the parents of a 15-year-old boy turned themselves and their son in to local police yesterday in connection with the burning of a voter list at a polling station in a local school.

The boy and his parents were questioned for about three hours, during which he admitted to destroying the list “through ignorance” and insisted that his act was not politically motivated, local police said.

Meanwhile, national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda said yesterday that the police were well-prepared to maintain law and order during the August 7 referendum.

The Interior Ministry’s Administration Department has instructed provincial governors in writing to maintain peace in their provinces in the run-up to and during the national vote.

The written order was sent by the department’s director general, Pradit Yamanan, according to a source.

Separately, EC member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said yesterday the agency was unlikely to hold public debates in all provinces, as there was insufficient time to do so.

Speaking during an annual meeting of the National Economic and Social Development Board, the prime minister insisted that the government had made much progress during its two years in power but most media outlets did not report it.

Doing so makes the government look inactive and incompetent, he claimed.

“No matter how many of its [Thai PBS] directors are replaced, it is still the same because their staff thinks the same way,” he said. “I’m not asking you to be on the same side as me, but I want you to present the things the government did as well.”

He encouraged everyone to watch the state-run NBT channel to keep up to date on the government’s work.