<p>In an interview with Prachatai following the constitutional referendum, Nidhi Eoseewong maintained that the results were due to the lack of free and open debate and criticism. Many people consequently made what seemed the easy choice giving the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) a sort of split legitimacy: While Thais may accept the results, it will be difficult to claim legitimacy with the international community where the process has been seen as unjust from the start. Despite the referendum result, he holds out hope for democracy future.</p> <p></p>

<div>A Democrat deputy leader has criticized the Referendum Act for its heavy sentences and ambiguous content which can lead to arbitrary prosecution of those who oppose the referendum and the charter draft.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Sunday, 24 April 2016, the Thai News Agency <a href="http://www.tnamcot.com/content/453580">reported</a> that Ongart Klampaiboon, deputy leader of the Democrat Party, urged the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) to clarify ambiguous content in the Referendum Act, enacted on 22 April 2016.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>According to the Thai News Agency, O </div>

<div>Not only Pheu Thai’s red bowls, but medical kits from the Democrats are also a threat to national security.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Monday, 11 April 2016, the state authorities confiscated 1,271 medical kits from a Democrat Party politician’s house in the central province of Kamphaeng Phet, saying that it is a symbolic political act which could threaten national security, <a href="http://manager.co.th/Local/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9590000037148">reported</a> ASTV Manager Online. </div>

<p dir="ltr"><span>30 April will be the fourth anniversary of the deprivation of freedom of the red-shirt political magazine editor, sentenced to 10 years in jail for articles he did not write. His wife has been very supportive and became active campaigner against Article 112</span></p> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr"><span>30 April will be the fourth anniversary of the deprivation of freedom of the red-shirt political magazine editor, sentenced to 10 years in jail for articles he did not write. His wife has been very supportive and became active campaigner against Article 112</span></p> <p></p>

<div> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b3e97379-7ab4-2bb0-f753-e2061c933b44">The pro-establishment Democrat Party submitted lèse majesté and defamation complaints against a redshirt wearing black around the King’s birthday and pressed the authorities to take action against a Pheu Thai politician’s son accused of lèse majesté.</span></p> </div>

<p>The Military Court rejected the bail request of a man who wrote messages mainly criticizing the junta and allegedly making reference to the king in a shopping mall’s restrooms.</p> <p>On Monday, the Military Court refused to grant 2.5 million baht bail to Opas C., a 67 year-old man charged with lèse majesté after writing messages criticizing the junta and the Democrat Party and allegedly making reference to HM the King. The Court reasoned that the charges are serious and they could not grant bail because of the flight risk. &nbsp;</p>

<div>It was the same spot where this 71-year-old man held a 45-day long hunger strike in 1992 to protest against General Suchinda Kraprayoon, then Prime Minister who came from a coup he led in 1991. The protest led to Black May, a people’s uprising in Bangkok which toppled the military regime and paved the way to a more democratic government for Thailand. </div>

<div>Thailand’s Democrat Party decided to boycott the February 2 general election. This is not the first time that the party has boycotted general election. Why have the Democrats, the oldest political party in the kingdom, repeated their decision? Will the boycott lead to yet another coup d’état? Prachatai talked to Prajak Kogkirati, a political scientist from Thammasat University.</div> <div> </div>

<div> <div>FIDH and its member organization Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) express their serious concern over the decision by Thailand’s opposition party, the Democrat Party, to boycott the general election scheduled to take place on February 2, 2014.&nbsp;</div> </div> <div> </div>

<div><span>Leading Opposition Democrat Party Abhisit Vejjajiva on Thursday said since the government has lost legitimacy to rule, it should “show responsibility.”&nbsp;</span></div> <p></p>