(File photo by Sarot Meksophawannakul)An Asia-wide election monitoring group, Anfrel, will refrain from observing the Aug 7 charter referendum because the Election Commission took so long to respond to its request, its chief said Thursday. The Asian Network for Free Elections (Anfrel) has monitored elections for nearly two decades, but will miss the Aug 7 referendum because the Election Commission held off approval for so long. "We've asked for approval [to monitor the referendum] since May, but the approval letter from the EC didn't arrive until July 6. A national volunteer poll watcher, the Open Forum for Democracy Foundation (PNet), also complained the "restrictive" environment set by the EC and referendum law are undermining people's interest in the referendum. "That makes it difficult for us to mobilise resources in time," said the Bangkok-based regional poll watcher.

Source: Bangkok Post July 28, 2016 22:07 UTC