Thai military junta gains majority support

A majority of Thais has agreed to an interim charter provision that allows the military junta to govern the country, officials said Sunday.

The interim charter which took effect Tuesday specified that the coup-making National Council for Peace and Administration (NCPO) would remain after the formation of an interim government, Xinhua reported.

According to a poll conducted by Thailand's National Institute of Development Administration, the majority or 79.94 percent of 1,256 respondents surveyed July 24-25, voiced support for the continued existence of the NCPO.

About 11 percent of the respondents, who were from various educational and occupational backgrounds, expressed disagreements and the rest gave no comments, the poll showed.

Meanwhile, more than 66 percent said that they had been happier since the May 22 coup because of diminished political turmoil.

In a related development, the NCPO received an approval rate of 8.87 out of 10 for its two-month performance, higher than the 8.82 for its first-month evaluation.

Around 92 percent of the 1,689 people who were surveyed nationwide between July 22-26 said they were satisfied, to different extents, with the NCPO's performance.