Abhisit said he and Davies agreed that public participation was needed ahead of the referendum but they were aware of the possibility of disturbances.

Abhisit praised Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for allowing the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship to set up an anti-fraud centre for the referendum as long as it did not break any laws.

“It is the right move to allow anyone to check if the referendum is carried out with fairness, but people should not use the centre to stage political activities,” the Democrat leader said.

To prevent disturbances, Abhisit suggested that the Election Commission clarify what activities are allowed and which are banned.

He urged the EC to recommend that the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order not use state resources in favour of supporters of the charter draft, since that would be unacceptable for the public.

“The public relations campaign on the content of the charter draft |is seen as misleading the public,” |he said.

These moves are believed to be in response to the Pheu Thai Party’s concerted “vote no” campaign on social media yesterday.

A recent unofficial survey conducted by intelligence agencies revealed that there was a big likelihood that the draft would not pass the national plebiscite, sources from intelligence agencies said.

Most of those surveyed said they would not vote for the draft, with as many as 80 per cent of the respondents in the Northeast saying they would certainly cast a “no” vote, the survey found.

At least 17 Pheu Thai politicians posted messages on their Facebook pages yesterday pointing out what they called flaws in the draft.

However, some Pheu Thai figures denied that this had been planned ahead of time.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his capacity as head of the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order, issued an order yesterday to extend free education from 12 to 15 years – from kindergarten to Grade 12 or lower vocational school.

According to the draft charter, free education will only be provided from kindergarten to Grade 9. However, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the law requiring 15 years of free education would remain in effect even if the draft fails to pass the referendum.

Prayut‘s order, viewed by many as a move to win backing from civic groups who have been calling for the free-education period to be extended, came after the government came up with a policy of granting subsidies to people who earn less than Bt100,000 annually.

About 20 million people aged 18 and over – almost half of all eligible voters – will benefit from this new measure.

Social-media campaign

Key Pheu Thai politicians launched an online campaign against the draft charter yesterday, posting their comments almost simultaneously on Facebook.

Most of them posted similar-looking graphics containing their photos and messages in the same font and style, which were also sent to the media early yesterday.

Those posting messages included deputy party leader Plodprasop Surasawadee, former deputy PM Kittiratt Na-Ranong, former education minister Chaturon Chaisang, former deputy transport minister Phumtham Vechayachai, former deputy House Speaker Samart Kaewmeechai and former chief government whip Udomdej Ratanasatien.

Pheu Thai’s former commerce minister Wattana Muangsook, however, insisted that this online campaign had not been pre-planned. As for the similar graphics, he said the politicians had them designed by the party’s graphic team. When asked why former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra had chosen to be quiet, he said she could not voice her opinions because her political rights had been revoked by the National Legislative Assembly in relation to charges of graft in the rice-pledging scheme.

This campaign, however, raises questions as to whether it is breaching the Referendum Act and other related laws, as the junta has prohibited activities that might affect the outcome of the referendum. The referendum law restricts campaigning for or against the draft charter, or in any way influencing votes, with violators facing up to 10 years of jail.

Election Commission member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said it had yet to be determined if the online anti-draft campaign is illegal, though it was fine if the comments are made on an individual basis. If the comments are being posted on behalf of the party, then the political-party registrar would have to decide if it breaches the law. He said it was not really clear if the campaign was being run separately, or as a whole, adding that the authorities had to investigate this further.

Wirat Kanlayasiri, a member of the Democrat Party’s legal team, said his party would not opt for any activities that might breach the law, adding that Democrats would only voice their opinions to the press.

While the Pheu Thai Party’s focus has been on the anti-draft campaign, the Democrats chose to concentrate on the upcoming Uefa Euro soccer tournament. Score predictions from five Democrats, including Abhisit Vejjajiva, were displayed in a TV show on Democrat-backed TV channel Fah Won Mai.

Sukhum Nuansakul, a political analyst and former rector of Ramkhamhaeng University, put the Pheu Thai campaign down to a “political game” because it stands to win even if the campaign is banned. Besides, the referendum will lose its legitimacy if the people are silenced, he added. He said the campaign could continue because it did not breach any laws or international norms.

In the two years since the military overthrew her government, Yingluck has been on trial for corruption over a multi-million-dollar rice subsidy scheme. She denies wrongdoing and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Phrae was one stop in a series of provincial trips aimed at keeping Yingluck, Thailand’s first female prime minister, in the public eye and making the junta think twice about jailing her.

“It’s a fight for survival,” Chayika Wongnapachant, her niece and aide, told Reuters.

The trips take place in the run-up to an August referendum on a new draft constitution that critics say will stymie party politics and enshrine military power.

The junta has threatened to jail anyone campaigning against the constitution, which is meant to pave the way for a general election in 2017.

Yingluck cannot run because the junta banned her from politics for five years, but her star appeal would boost any campaign by her Pheu Thai Party.

THAILAND’S WIDER DYSFUNCTION

However, many Thais despise Yingluck almost as much as her billionaire brother Thaksin, who was prime minister until deposed in a previous military coup in 2006.

Both his supporters and opponents have taken to the streets in a decade of often-violent protests.

Thailand remains broadly divided, with the Shinawatra clan enjoying heavy support in the mostly poorer north and northeast.

Yingluck’s resilience and popularity is a symptom of Thailand’s wider dysfunction, says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, apolitical analyst at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.

“She can’t run in the next election yet remains a leading newsmaker among politicians because her opponents have failed to provide a viable electoral alternative,” he said. “The military government would like Yingluck to go away and the Thaksin era to be extinguished.”

The opposite Democrat Party remains weak and the junta still struggles for legitimacy after two years in power, he said. “So Thailand really is in this prolonged limbo.”

POPULARITY CONTEST

Ostensibly, Yingluck’s tour of the countryside came after she asked her five million Facebookfollowers to name tourist attractions in their home provinces, and to cast votes for the five she should visit. But the trips are also an attempt to “test the waters”, Chayika said.

The junta, which banned gatherings of five or more people after the 2014 coup, has made no public objection to what look and feel like political rallies.

“The junta cannot stop her from doing so because when she goes there are no problems,” government spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said of Yingluck’s trips. “But every time she goes, one of our officials will follow her and send reports back to us.”

The government was also being cautious, said Suranand Vejjajiva, Yingluck’s former chief of staff. “The public might rebel if they think she is being treated unfairly,” he said.

Yingluck’s trips have become part of an intensifying popularity contest with the army general who deposed her: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Yingluck’s relaxed style in Phrae contrasts with Prayut’s tetchy public appearances. He has lashed out at reporters, vowing in 2015 to “execute” those who didn’t report the truth.

At a recent event promoting fitness, Prayut wrapped a scarf around a gym instructor’s neck and pretended to hang him.

LETHAL BEAUTY

August’s referendum on the draft constitution will also be the first real test of the junta’s popularity since the coup.

Both Yingluck’s Pheu Thai Party and the Democrat Party say the draft constitution is undemocratic and will do little to soothe Thailand’s political instability.

Despite the junta’s threat to jail critics of the charter, Yingluck used her trip to Phrae to inject a note of doubt.

“I’m worried about the constitution and that it will lead us nowhere,” she said after a tour of two picturesque Buddhist temples. “I would like a constitution that … gives maximum rights to the people.”

Critics have accused Yingluck of playing on a “soft” feminine side and turning on the tears to elicit sympathy. In private, however, she is forceful and eloquent.

“Do you know the Thai phrase suay prahan?” asked her niece Chayika. “It means ’lethal beauty’.” Then she drew her finger across her throat.

The UDD, or “red shirts”, set up the anti-fraud centre on June 5, claiming it would monitor the government to see if it coerces or influences voters to reject or accept the charter draft in the national referendum in early August.

But The Patriots, led by Chatchet Songsri, claim the UDD really wants to discredit the Constitution Drafting Commission, the National Legislative Assembly and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

The group claimed there was an ulterior motive for the UDD centre – to influence the public to vote against the charter draft in the referendum. Its members submitted leaflets and documents to police as evidence.

It has already submitted the same complaint to the Election Commission, which it asked to take action against the UDD.

Chatchet also asked police to press charges against the Resistant Citizen group, which he accused of violating the referendum law by producing a music video of the song “Yang Nee Tong Tee Khao” to disseminate to the public. He said the lyrics attempted to influence the public to reject the charter draft.

Meanwhile, UDD chairman Jatuporn Prompan and co-leaders submitted a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, telling him the objectives of the anti-fraud centre.

He said the centre had no intention to cause national rifts but want to check irregularities in the referendum.

Although Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the UDD could set up the centre, Prawit has asked the UDD to shut it down, Jatuporn said.

“We are not a national security threat. But we act like a referee to check if the government has no intention to cheat and the referendum is not fraudulent. We ask General Prawit to be open-minded,” he said.

Jatuporn said the government could not shut down the centre unless it resorted to Article 44, the interim charter’s clause granting the prime minister sweeping powers.

He said the centre wanted to invite the United Nations and the European Union to monitor the referendum because he felt the government has verbally and physically intimidated them and they wanted foreign agencies to help create transparency in the referendum.

UDD co-leader Nattawut Saikuar said the group would not dissolve the centre as requested by Prawit, but added that the UDD did not want to challenge the deputy prime minister.

Prawit said the government would not have to resort to Article 44 to close the anti-fraud centre because there are other laws that he could enforce.

Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda said the UDD centre probably would break the NCPO’s ban on political gatherings.

He said setting up the centre would not benefit the country because such a body must be politically neutral and the UDD had rejected the charter draft from the beginning.

“If the charter draft passes the referendum, the UDD can claim that there was fraud and use it as a political condition later,” he said.

However, the PM said security measures at the compound would remain unchanged.

Chemchuree Chuiaprat, 27, ran up to the prime minister as he was talking to officials from the Office of Knowledge Management and Development who were on a visit to promote their event.

“Please help me! Everyone told me to ask the PM!” Chemchuree shouted. “My brain is interrupted by a certain wave. It’s from a project to read and control human minds! I have evidence and everything. Please set up a committee to investigate this.”

Security staff managed to block her before she could get closer to the premier, who was heard saying: “What on earth is that?”

The unusual visitor was then taken to Nari Samosorn Building and was questioned about her intention.

Police Maj-General Jitti Rodbangyang, a commander based in Government House, later reported to Prayut that the woman wanted to ask the PM for help with a “brain-controlling wave”.

“Listen to what she suffers and we’ll look into it,” Prayut instructed. “But don’t interrogate her. She did not do anything wrong. Listen to her first.”

General Prayut appeared unshaken by the incident. The woman was eventually calmed down and he was not affected.

The PM also said he did not think of tightening up security measures following the incident. “Don’t be panic. I’m a retired soldier. If anyone comes to me threateningly, I can even punch him back,” he joked.

Prayut said that Chemchuree entered the Government House’s compound by regular rules of leaving her ID card with security and receiving a guest card in return. She came to merely file a petition, he added.

Chemchuree, meanwhile, claimed that she is a victim of electrical “EEG wave”, which she said could lead to a decline in her physical ability, poor thinking process, cancer and eventually death.

EEG is an abbreviation of Electroencephalography, an electrophysiological monitoring method used to record electrical activity of the brain. The Nation has been unable to find any links between EEG and the symptoms mentioned by Chemchuree.

The woman added that she did not know who or where the EEG wave came from and how she became affected by it.

Claiming to be a representative of a group of sufferers, the woman said she wanted to ask the premier to set up an investigative committee to track down the exact cause of the damage.

She was led away by police officers, who said that they would allow her to file the petition.

Anybody who is above the age of 18 on the day of the referendum, or was born before August 9, 1998, is eligible to vote.