Thailand votes for referendum calling for new constitution

Voters in Thailand's general election overwhelmingly voted for a referendum calling for a new constitution to replace a 2017 charter.

The referendum is the outcome of a decades-long struggle between the pro-military royalist establishment and popular democratic political movements.

The referendum drew 60 percent support and 32 percent against, the election commission reported, after 94 percent of the polling stations were counted.

Those backing change say the current military-backed charter entrenches unelected power, weakening democratic checks and civil liberties.

The majority Yes vote gives parliament a public mandate to begin drafting a new national charter, which would replace the current 2017 constitution

which was drafted by a military-appointed committee following a 2014 coup.

However, Thailand's history shows that constitutional moments often trigger backlash from entrenched elites, raising the risk of renewed political instability.