Similar to vote counts in general elections, the results will be tallied at every polling station nationwide. Ballot boxes will be closed at 4pm and officials will count unused ballot papers before counting “yes” and “no” votes, he said.

Results will be reported in the media and the EC’s Facebook page to ensure transparency.

The EC is expecting to begin receiving results from each polling station at about 6pm. It anticipates being able to report 95 per cent of results by 9pm, he said, assuming the telephone signal is not disrupted and weather is good.

He said he was confident computer servers used for the count will not collapse and the results will be broadcast live on several TV channels and Facebook.

Somchai denied that the new ballot boxes would lead to fraud, saying that they have a lid and can be locked.

“To open the lock, five officials stationed at the polling station must endorse their signature. If this lock is cut, the five officials must acknowledge it,” he said.

Responding to concerns that the new transparent plastic boxes might allow people to see ballots and results, he said no one could identify names on the papers once they are folded in the boxes.

He said he was embarrassed when a new ballot box broke while he was testing it. “But if you see it in a positive way, such news can help increase voters’ awareness to cast their ballots,” he said.

He said that engineers who made the boxes said that the strength of the box should be tested with lid closed. “Broken boxes can also indicate that we are going to have a large turnout that makes ballot boxes burst,” he said.Meanwhile,president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai yesterday admitted that he was concerned about the possibility of the charter draft being rejected after lawmakers from both political camps voice opposition to it.

“I am also worried that the results of referendum would be wrongly interpreted. Someone has said that if the draft is accepted, they will react in one way and if it is rejected, they will react in another way,” he said.

Pornpetch said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had made it clear that if the draft is accepted, the road map for democracy would proceed and if it was rejected, the interim charter would be amended to pave way for the drafting of the new charter.

CHARTER DRAFTERS said yesterday |authorised “simplified summary” booklets do not present distorted information as some |critics have claimed.

Authorities, meanwhile, have stepped up efforts to convince the public not to be |convinced by “false” information in the six days before the referendum.

The summary pamphlets conveying the gist of the draft, published by the Election Commission (EC) last month and distributed to 17 million households nationwide, have been criticised as propaganda that exaggerates the benefits people will receive if the charter is enacted.

The legal watchdog group Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw) blamed the pamphlets not only for alleged exaggerations, but also because they convey additional information not presented in the original version of the draft while omitting controversial points, |especially those regarding newly invented |parliamentary mechanisms.

iLaw published 34 infographics last week explaining its concerns about the pamphlets on its Facebook page, which have received more than 2,300 shares so far.

Those arguments, however, were countered by Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) spokesman Chatchai Na Chiangmai, who told The Nation that the CDC authored the summarised content of the pamphlets with only the intent to simplify complexity of the charter draft. Emphasising that the CDC did not distort the draft’s content by merely “summarising”, Chatchai said extra information needed to be added only to provide a clearer picture of what will happen if the draft is enacted.

Some points in the draft were also omitted because they were “too trivial” for people in general to acknowledge, Chatchai added.

The spokesman said that the CDC would probably not make official remarks on the matter despite the series of allegations about the pamphlets. “If they want to fix it, they should raise their concerns to us. Speaking elsewhere doesn’t help,” Chatchai said.

“Pamphlets for people to study”

Meanwhile, government Spokesperson Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said people should stick to EC-organised platforms to obtain knowledge about the charter draft, including the EC’s website, mobile application and the pamphlets.

“People, as holders of rights [to vote], should get to understand the draft by themselves,” Sansern said. “They should not believe politicians or ill-intentioned people who keep distorting facts and creating misunderstanding.”

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has also urged provincial order centres to closely monitor the situation during last stretch before the referendum, Sansern added.

EC member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn reiterated rules that apply to the run-up to the referendum, including that polling must not be conducted starting today at 4pm until August 7.

Surveys conducted and published earlier can be shared online but pollsters are not allowed to redistribute the results.

At social gatherings, people should not try to persuade others to vote in a particular way, he said, while social events held from 6pm on next Sunday to Monday must not serve alcoholic drinks.

Meanwhile, across the country, various activities focused on the final week ahead of the vote.

Pumsan Seniwong na Ayuthaya, Democrat Party chairman of the strategic committee on special activities for the Northeastern region, urged people to exercise their consciences before deciding whether to accept or reject the draft.

He said he did not question the Democrat Party’s decision to reject the draft on the grounds of democratic principles but he did not want the referendum to cause divisions between people who work together to protect the country. “We should give respect to one another. Do not forget about reform and the country’s enemy,” he said.

In Lop Buri more than 300 Thai students rallied in Kok Samrong district to urge people to cast ballots in the referendum.

In one example in Songkhla, a retired teacher took part in the referendum campaign by riding pillion on a modified motorcycle to encourage voters to cast their ballots.

Alert in the South

Meanwhile, security officials yesterday warned people in the deep South of car bomb attacks during the last week ahead of the referendum.

Colonel Therdsak Ngamsanong, deputy commander of the Yala Special Task Force, said people could cast their ballots in safety because officials would be united to keep the deep South peaceful and orderly.

He admitted that language barriers made it difficult for people to understand the charter draft but he hoped that draft specialists would explain to voters how to cast their ballots.

Therdsak added that the driver of a pick-up truck that was stolen in Yala, which authorities suspected could be used in a car bomb attack, had escaped along a route towards Krong Pinang district in Yala.

He said the perpetrator might wait until authorities stop searching for the |vehicle before modifying it and committing a crime.

What they say

Election Commission pamphlet

Preschool children will receive standard care and development for two years, free, prior to school education.

All people will receive efficient and equal public health service;

[All] procedures on national reform will be completed within five years;

Farmers will be guided to a sustainable approach of self-sufficiency.

iLaw

Article 54 doesn’t specify the period of free pre-school education that children will receive;

Article 55 doesn’t mention equality in terms of public health service;

Article 259 stipulated that expected reform results must bear fruit within five years but does not mention that all reforms must be completed within five years;

Article 75 doesn’t specify farmers as beneficiaries of a state-organised economic system;

The EC booklet skips a number of the draft’s controversial elements, such as the Senate being selected by the junta and having increased power. The junta, together with its appointed legislators and reformers, will also continue to stay in power.

CDC’s counter-argument

The CDC only simplified the logic of Article 54 because pre-school children normally attend nurseries for two years prior to kindergarten;

Article 4 of the draft already stipulates that people’s equality shall be protected;

CDC insists on its explanation in the pamphlet;

Article 73 stipulates that the state provide measures or mechanisms to assist farmers in carrying out efficient agriculture;

Many of the points are in transition thus the CDC decided to omit them as it wished to provide a broad picture of the draft.

Source : Election Commission, iLaw, CDC.