BANGKOK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Thailand's post-coup leaders kicked off a "democracy festival" on Friday, urging people to vote in a constitutional referendum on Aug. 19 they said was a first step to building an "ethical" democracy.
At a rally in Bangkok, coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont signed an outsized copy of the new charter to replace the 1997 version torn up when prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted last year.
"It will allow Thailand's democracy to have a stable and ethical political system and will preserve the constitutional monarchy forever," Surayud told 2,000 soldiers and villagers packed into a Bangkok arena.
Thaksin, who lives in exile in London, has urged voters to reject the military-sponsored charter, calling it "fruit of the poisonous tree" and a "step back" for democracy.
Many politicians and analysts agree that the new constitution signals the end of strong, single-party government and will mean returning to the constantly collapsing coalitions of the 1990s.
Politicians would also be suborned by the increased power of bureaucrats, such as happened during the "managed democracy" of the 1980s under army chief Prem Tinsulanonda, now chief royal adviser and seen by the Thaksin camp as the coup mastermind.
"I don't believe political stability will return to Thailand if we accept this charter," retired history professor Nithi Eawsriwong told a seminar on Friday.
PICK A CHARTER?
If voters reject the 2007 constitution, the coup leaders have said they will pick one of Thailand's previous 17 charters for an election promised for Dec. 16 or 23.
To avoid that scenario, Surayud and Sonthi have enlisted some 400,000 military personnel and all government agencies to help get the draft charter through the referendum.
"A failed referendum would be tantamount to a public rejection of the coup and its aftermath," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political lecturer at Chulalongkorn University.
"If turnout is anywhere below 50 percent, even passage would appear less legitimate," he wrote in a commentary.
The anti-charter campaign has been feeble so far despite last month's lifting of the ban on political activities.
Martial law remains in 35 of Thailand's 76 provinces. Police and soldiers have thrown up roadblocks in Bangkok and in Thaksin's political stronghold in the north to stop anti-coup protests.
Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas told Reuters in an interview on Friday he did not expect political violence to derail the poll set for December.
"We have passed the most critical point and everything is under control now," Boonrawd said. Police clashed with anti-coup demonstrators last month and six rally leaders remain detained on charges of causing public unrest.
"I don't think we need to use an emergency decree to deal with street violence before the elections," he said.
