Thread: Thailand Votes 2nd Feb 2014

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

Given that Suthep couldn't care less about them, I would say his interest in the farmers is a tad cynical.

you mean like PT did 2 years ago when they made electoral promises about free iPads and a scheme they knew would rip farmers off ?

wake up, Thaiophile, real world is not in some far away rice fields with smiling Issaan peasants, it's in Bangkok with nasty politicians and social manipulators

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Originally Posted by longway

They support the democratic process as far as it supports the PT and no further.

Nonsense. You just spout PADite shite time after time. Give the people some respect, they vote for the party that best serves their needs - just like very other election all over the world.

If the dems had a platform that supported them then they would vote dem - it really is as simple as that.

As has been pointed out time after time from the likes of Sabang; the dems arrogant attitude of totally ignoring the populace has caused a massive problem in Thai politics. They're not bothering about providing a manefesto and policies because they can rely on their army, judicial and civil service patronage networks.

If that complete waste of space, abhisit, had set about developing a serious political party when he took over, instead of avoiding elections and supporting PADites coup groups then the dems would likely have been elected with a majority by now...

I am not talking about PT voters; i am talking about people on this forum.

Originally Posted by longway

I am not talking about PT voters; i am talking about people on this forum.

Ok, sorry...

From my perspective, I'd love to see the dems reinvent themselves, be a great political party, anti-corruption, anti-patronage, engage the electorate and be voted in.

If the Dems had to reinvent themselves, then they would be bought out by PT eventually

The Dems political agenda is not to work for the people, but to represent a certain group of the population, and therefore they can't be bought, and yes, they will always remain a minority in that regard. So no free iPads from the Dems.

in that regard, Thailand has no functioning opposition, and it's not a Democracy technically. It's a single party regime with "bought out" election and a semblance of opposition representing an elite minority.

Without protests by a minority, there can't be progress toward Democracy. It's always a vocal minority that brings the necessary changes to Democracy.

Was it the case with the Reds protest ? no because they weren't fighting for changes, only for an early election to get a man and his tyrannic party elected again. Is it the case with the current protests ? possibly, but unlikely.

The real "reds" and Thilda are waiting in silence, in the shadow, for that government to collapse and the PADs to disperse, so she can do her "revolution" moves.

you want to see more Democracy in Thailand ? it will have to be through a Communist/Socialist Revolution, and it could be brutal and lead to a full blown leftist dictatorship. No free iPads there.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

If the Dems had to reinvent themselves, then they would be bought out by PT eventually

The Dems political agenda is not to work for the people, but to represent a certain group of the population, and therefore they can't be bought, and yes, they will always remain a minority in that regard. So no free iPads from the Dems.

The money behind yellow politics eclipses by several levels of magnitude all of the money amassed by all of the Issan furniture tycoons and car dealers put together. The institutions the former have bought and paid for are the dam in the river of change. Eventually the rains come. Read a good cyberpunk novel, and squeeze your elephants into that.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

The real "reds" and Thilda are waiting in silence, in the shadow, for that government to collapse and the PADs to disperse, so she can do her "revolution" moves.

you want to see more Democracy in Thailand ? it will have to be through a Communist/Socialist Revolution, and it could be brutal and lead to a full blown leftist dictatorship. No free iPads there.

Yes, equally bad.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

in that regard, Thailand has no functioning opposition, and it's not a Democracy technically. It's a single party regime with "bought out" election and a semblance of opposition representing an elite minority.

Agreed.

Well, so much for the Military Constitution , biasly written and undemocratically imposed by the coup mongering Junta and loose association of royalists, elites, and rich businessmen .

As it stands the democratic people it was imposed upon are abiding by it, but the very people instrumental in writing it and imposing it are now doing all they can to circumvent it.

Welcome to "coup- issued law" , or more topically Welcome to "sutheps law"

Great to see Yingluck and the caretaker government holding the democratic line here and forcing the thai undemocratic elements to expose themselves as such time after time.

This approach by Yingluck is really going down well and drawing large support in international democratic circles, and alienating the fascist type opposition.

Hav'nt seen any figures published for the number of people who wanted to vote, but we're prevented by sutheps thugs, that registered their complaint with the police.

These figures need to be disclosed as importantly they could mean the turnout is already over 50%.

These people turned out!

Originally Posted by ENT

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

There is a doctor in Bangkok

... advocating... to hand out caffeine drinks and sweets - to keep them AWAKE. .

The doctor's an idit, and complicit in encouraging dangerous driving.

yet naming him or his patron could elicit a prison term

Originally Posted by ENT

Originally Posted by Butterfly

in that regard, Thailand has no functioning opposition, and it's not a Democracy technically. It's a single party regime with "bought out" election and a semblance of opposition representing an elite minority.

Agreed.

Also agree.

Originally Posted by Albert Shagnastier

Originally Posted by ENT

Originally Posted by Butterfly

in that regard, Thailand has no functioning opposition, and it's not a Democracy technically. It's a single party regime with "bought out" election and a semblance of opposition representing an elite minority.

Agreed.

Also agree.

I disagree. You are right about no effective opposition but that is not the doing of the present government or its party. It is due to lack of competetiveness of the opposition.

^ I thought thinking in Issaan was a crime,

that's why they all support Thaksin and his cronies, and still fall for it

Originally Posted by Takeovers

that is not the doing of the present government or its party. It is due to lack of competetiveness of the opposition.

agree, it's due to the stupidity of the electorate and the greed of the politicians.

Those fools can't resist winning at all cost and join the main winning party so they can have a share of the fiscal pie. It happens in the west occasionally, but here it's a national sport.

And for that reason, they will never, never, and I mean never, have a working and modern democracy. At best, it will be a popular contest for the best looking PM, X-Factor in politics.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

I thought thinking in Issaan was a crime

a Thought crime.

Originally Posted by sabang

Originally Posted by Butterfly

I thought thinking in Issaan was a crime

a Thought crime.

hardly, a Cultural Crime more likely

BBC reporting CC rejects Dems election annulment bid "no evidence"

It's just getting quite boring and the army will quietly take over when nobody's looking - in fact they already have. Nobody has really noticed.

The Spanish Republican government was continually undermined from its inception in 1931 to the partly successful coup in 1936 to its death in 1939. Despite the fact that the majority -sometimes slim, sometimes large - supported it. The policy from those who wanted to seize power undemocratically was to just oppose it continually, to always deny its legitimacy, and to hope that from the chaos that resulted to parade the virtues of a fascist government. They always got the chaos. I see very strong similarities in Thailand. Yingluck's government has never had a "loyal opposition" . Very early in their term of office, Pitak Siam appeared, wanting to overthrow the government but it didn't get traction. They were thrown off but it weakened the government. Then the white masks. They didn't get traction either. Then Democrats throwing chairs and performing antics in parliament. Then finally, an issue, The Amnesty Bill, had traction and seemed to be against the will of the people. Yingluclk, like a good democrat compromised. Retrospectively, Yingluck's government should have rammed it through and been the dictatorial government that they are accused of being because being democratic and compromising appears weak and invites bullying by the fascist thugs that we see today who will probably succeed in everything they do. But, no, Yingluck conceded to an election when her government still had two years of office to run with total legitimacy. With retrospect, I think we can say Pheua Thai committed a partial suicide. They conceded that might and demonstrations and loud voices makes right. But whatever their numbers, Suthep and his cohorts exude and project power - they have all the real weapons of state on their side - and the government projects weakness and compromise. Because they have compromised too much and never understood what power they have. The government has been like a person walking late at night on a crowded street who sees some thugs behind her and looks for the best way to avoid a situation and walks down a dead-end street. Instead of turning around and SCREAMING. For help.

Thai Constitutional Court Hands PM Yingluck a Surprise Lifeline
David Stout
Feb. 13, 2014

Court upholds snap election results, but dismisses government petition as well


Anti-government protesters enjoy a massage and read papers near a picture of protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban in an occupied area, in downtown Bangkok February 6, 2014.
© Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters / REUTERS

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s beleaguered caretaker government received a boost on Wednesday as Thailand’s Constitutional Court refused to annul last month’s elections and dissolve her Pheu Thai party.

“This case is over,” Wiratana Kalayasiri, head of the opposition’s legal team, who filed the petition, told AFP. “But if the government does anything wrong again, we will make another complaint.”

The decision effectively upholds February’s snap polls with one stroke, but it was not a complete victory for Thailand’s first female premier as the judges also declined to take punitive action against anti-government protesters for disrupting the voting process.

“It’s not as if the Pheu Thai’s case was a slam-dunk and the court simply, for political reasons, dismissed it,” said Benjamin Zawacki, a lawyer and independent scholar based in Bangkok.

Intimidation and besieged polling stations prevented some 2 million people from casting their ballots, while the Democrat Party boycotted the election entirely. Nevertheless, the court ruled that the protesters had a legal right to demonstrate and lower courts should handle any criminal violations.

“Their reasoning was essentially, ‘yes, the Democrat Party did prevent the polls from taking place, but that’s criminal violation and that should be handled by criminal courts not by our courts,’” adds Zawacki.

The Democrat Party’s petition was based on Yingluck’s failure to hold elections in one day, as is constitutionally required, but Zawacki called this “bad lawyering” based on a circular and overreaching argument, considering the opposition’s key role in blocking the polls.

Antigovernment protests have roiled Thailand for some three months now, during which at least 10 people have been killed and some 600 injured. Protesters want reforms to be carried out to rid Thailand of the influence of Yingluck and her divisive brother, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Analysts say Yingluck may have dodged a judicial bullet, as intervention by the Constitutional Court — an institution largely perceived as favoring the Democrat Party — has previously been used to remove Thaksin-backed governments from office and dissolve former iterations of her Pheu Thai party.

Nevertheless, her administration’s potential legal woes are far from over. Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission is currently investigating the caretaker government over a failed rice scheme; however, an indictment has yet to be filed.

The Election Commission ruled on Tuesday that new ballots will be held on April 27 for those prevented from voting last month. However, there are also 28 constituencies where no candidates stood due to a disrupted registration process; no decision has so far been taken on how to fill these seats.

world.time.com