Thailand’s Potemkin referendum

The options for Thais are not appealing. To vote yes would enshrine an undemocratic constitution and might lead to years of authoritarian rule. To vote no, defeating the charter, could leave the junta in place longer and might lead to a new constitution that is even less promising. Either way, the West must regard this vote for what it is, a Potemkin exercise staged by modern authoritarians, not the genuine process of change that Thailand sorely needs.

BREAKING: Thailand voted in favor of new constitution, results based on 80 percent of votes counted