Thread: Thailand : PM to Decide on House Dissolution in 4 Months

Originally Posted by Panda

Such is the reason Abhisit doesnt want international voting observers to oversee the elections.

Not forgetting that this will be the first election with the straight-as-a-die BJT running the interior ministry......

Originally Posted by SteveCM

Not forgetting that this will be the first election with the straight-as-a-die BJT running the interior ministry......

Yes and it's patently obvious they're hanging on for grim death depite what Abi says re the poll results beng very close. The closer they would have us believe the easier it is to corrupt the results.

It's rumoured some local elections were recently corrupted (surprise, surprise) and Thailand's coming elections (if they come?) have far more at stake.

So it's no wonder they don't want outside observers on the sidelines.

In my personal opinion it's going to be a very, very dirty election despite what "pupa" would like us to believe.

Originally Posted by The Bold Rodney

Originally Posted by English Noodles

Quote: Originally Posted by SteveCM "I believe if all 60 million [eligible] Thai citizens come out to cast their votes, they can change the country," he said. I thought that there were only about 40 million people eligible to vote in Thailand.

Noodles..a point or two if I may?

1) Everyone knows Thais can't count without using a calculator.

2) Should they get more voting slips back than there are eliglble voters in Thailand... an extra 20 million voters answers any difficult questions that might be asked.

Most Thais dont know the difference between a million and a billion, or even hundreds of thousands and a million. They just see lots of zeros and know it means a lot. So the difference between 40 million and 60 million is not much since they both have the same number of zeros.

Originally Posted by Panda

Most Thais dont know the difference between a million and a billion,

i think you would be surprised , most Thai's are well aware of a million these days , especially considering auto's are priced in same or fractions of .

Originally Posted by Panda

Most Thais dont know the difference between a million and a billion, or even hundreds of thousands and a million. They just see lots of zeros and know it means a lot. So the difference between 40 million and 60 million is not much since they both have the same number of zeros.

I disagree with that.

Originally Posted by SteveCM

Not forgetting that this will be the first election with the straight-as-a-die BJT running the interior ministry...

Thailands 'oldest political party' has sadly denigrated into a bangkokcentric interest group, with electoral muscle provided by 2 of the countrys most notoriously 'self serving' factions, centred in the mid south and buriram.

They hardly deserve any thinking persons support- but then again PT's "Thaksin thinks, PT acts" hardly inspires either.

Originally Posted by Mid

i think you would be surprised , most Thai's are well aware of a million these days , especially considering auto's are priced in same or fractions of .

I think comparing the price of cars with the number of the eligible voting electorate in Thailand is somewhat different, although I would agree that fractional numbering (particularly where currency is involved) shows counting if anything has been simplified for Thai's.

Thai's as we know are generally badly educated, superstitious and certainly easily influenced by rumour and many are advised or seek advice of their village "leader / head man" as to which is the right candidate for them to vote for. (not all but many).

It's made apparent by the number of evasive and confusing statements made by the present government they're sure Thai people can be easily confused and influenced especially most of the poor in Thailand.

I understand that this is virtually inconceivable to many of us "farangs" even though our governments try to cloud issues and influence us on a much larger scale, hence the word "spin".

The crux of the matter we were discussing was "how useful if nobody can be 100% sure as to the number of people in Thailand who are eligibe to vote in the coming election".

Another matter is that there's an advance postal voting system used here for the Thais who are displaced from home and unable to afford to travel home to vote.

Maybe just maybe all this sounds like a recipe for abuse?...and assuming there could be approx. an 50% votes "eligible" to be cast shows how easy it is or likely to influence the outcome of any election?

Originally Posted by The Bold Rodney

I think comparing the price of cars with the number of the eligible voting electorate in Thailand is somewhat different,

and who was doing that ?

thinking is something you could practise before you blaber away on the keyboard .

Originally Posted by The Bold Rodney

I think comparing the price of cars with the number of the eligible voting electorate in Thailand is somewhat different, although I would agree that fractional numbering (particularly where currency is involved) shows counting if anything has been simplified for Thai's.

Clueless as ever, Rodders.

Originally Posted by The Bold Rodney

I understand

I don't believe you.

one million inches = 25.4 kilometers
A billion inches is 15783 miles, more than halfway around the earth

Very few people can conceptualise these numbers, Thai or otherwise.
Einstein's

arh , but is that a long or short billion ?

Originally Posted by sabang

one million inches = 25.4 kilometers
A billion inches is 15783 miles, more than halfway around the earth

Very few people can conceptualise these numbers, Thai or otherwise.
Einstein's

Exactly. If you were using such a measure every day you would have some idea of its value. Try changing a 500 baht note in an up country village market to get some perspective of the numbers poor Thais deal with.

Originally Posted by Mid

arh , but is that a long or short billion ?

Only a couple or few noughts isn't it?

http://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news.php?id=255404160013

Maj Gen Sanan wished to see Democrats and Pheu Thais join hands to form an administration

BANGKOK, 16 April 2011 (NNT)-Deputy Prime Minister Maj Gen Sanan Kajornprasart said it would be up to the Court whether to withdraw the bails for Red Shirt core leaders while also foreseeing no party to dominate in the next election.

Chat Thai Pattana chief adviser Major General Sanan added following the attempt to revoke the bails by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) expected to take place next Monday that the Court may need sometime to deliberate on the matter. If any of them found to have violated bail conditions, they would be prosecuted.

Meanwhie, he expressed his confidence that there would be no single party government after the election. He added that a multi party government is more likely than the other way around, adding he wished to see both the Democrat and Pheu Thai Parties join hands in establishing the new government. He cited no problem for his own party to be in the opposition.

Democrat: Songkran helps revive Silom’s image after violence last year : National News Bureau of Thailand

Democrat: Songkran helps revive Silom’s image after violence last year BANGKOK, 16 April 2011 (NNT) – The ruling Democrat Party believes the reputation of Silom Road, which was damaged by the political mayhem in 2010, has improved, thanks to this year’s joyful celebration of the Songkran Festival.

Spokesperson of the Democrat Party MD Buranaj Smutharaks pointed out that images of the latest Songkran celebrative activities on Bangkok’s Silom Road had been disseminated across the globe. As a result, he voiced confidence that the festival would give foreigners a better impression of the capital’s famous tourist spot after its name was tainted by the deadly clashes between protesters of the red-shirt United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) and the multi-color group last year.

Meanwhile, MD Buranaj assured that the upcoming general election would help propel the country forward while revealing that some MPs of other parties had expressed their intention to run for MP seats under the Democrat banner during the poll.

The Spokesperson recommended all political parties, especially Pheu Thai, to start unveiling their policies and MP candidates from 23 April onwards in order to allow sufficient time for Thai people to decide who to vote for. He also criticized an attempt by certain groups to bring members of the Shinawatra family to power, saying it was clearly part of the strategy to ultimately grant amnesty to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra without an aim to benefit the nation.


Reporter : Surapan Laotharanarit

Originally Posted by Mid

and who was doing that ?

You were or I misread "auto's" in English? and wasn't it was you that butted in with your off topic post, never mind "mid" if splitting hairs pleases you then I'm happy for you.

Originally Posted by Mid

thinking is something you could practise before you blaber away on the keyboard

"mid" it's BLABBER not "blaber"...for Christ's sake get an English dictionary, your wearing me out, it's no wonder you only cut and paste!

Originally Posted by English Noodles

Clueless as ever, Rodders.

Thank you "noodles" expand on that post any time you're ready?

Bangkok Post : Democrats name 'policy day'

News > Politics
GENERAL ELECTION

• Published: 16/04/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The Democrats will officially unveil their 25% minimum wage increase on Wednesday, spokesman Buranat Samuttarak said yesterday, while deriding Puea Thai's 300 baht a day wage promise.

A policeman takes a photo of a Democrat Party campaign billboard put up on land rented by Puea Thai MP for Bangkok, Pairote Issarasereepong, in Nong Chok district of the city. Puea Thai has complained to the police about the billboard, which they say encroaches on their land. APICHIT JINAKUL

The "Moving Forward with Policies for the Public" two-year plan will also aim to increase farmers' profits by 25% under the income insurance scheme.
Mr Buranat said the Democrat Party will maintain its seven social welfare programmes, including free electricity for 90 units of usage or less, and subsidies on diesel and cooking gas.

The party will also extend the 15-year free education programme to the university level.

Mr Buranat said the Democrats also intend to achieve seven new projects, including the Chinese-Thai joint development of a high-speed rail route that will link China with Thailand and Malaysia.

Mr Buranat lashed out at Puea Thai Party's policies, such as increasing the daily minimum wage to 300 baht. He said the drastic increase could cause employers to operate at a loss, compared to the Democrat's proposed gradual minimum wage hike which would give employers more time to adjust.

He also said Puea Thai's proposals to issue farmers with credit cards would only leave farmers deeper in debt.

Thepthai Senpong, personal spokesman for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, said he believed that neither the Democrats nor Puea Thai would win more than 200 seats in the upcoming election.

He said a prediction made by Puea Thai that it would gain 270 seats was simply a propaganda stunt.

Mr Thepthai noted recent polls showed that ratings of the Democrat Party and Puea Thai were equally high.

He also predicted that the Democrat Party will gain at least 51 seats in the party list system.

Originally Posted by Panda

Originally Posted by Mid

Attawit insisted the process of informing officials about protests was different from asking for permission, but said it would depend on the courts to decide if a gathering was permissible or not.

And we all know on which side the courts political loyalty lies.

With whomever is in Government - and who's granting amnesty at that 'time' (yes I understand the last part - think about it..)

Originally Posted by The Bold Rodney

.....

twat .

Originally Posted by Mid

twat .

What's the matter "mid" missing your boyfriend here?

Keep up your cut and pastes until you can assemble a legible sentence in English that makes any sense!

That is if you ever can, however I doubt it will be anytime soon.

How to make friends and influence people - course missed.

Senators want delay in House dissolution

Senators want delay in House dissolution

By Satien Viriyapanpongsa,
Samatcha Hoonsara,
Khanittha Thapphajorn
The Nation on Sunday
Published on April 17, 2011


Rosana says more time needed to scrutinise new laws but PM stands firm

While Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has made clear his intention to dissolve the House of Representatives in the first week of May, some senators said they should be given more time to scrutinise election-related laws.

House dissolution should be deferred to the end of May, said Bangkok senator Rosana Tositrakul.

However, Abhisit insisted on keeping to his plan, reiterating: "I confirm that the deadline for House dissolution is within the first week of May. I would like to ask for Parliament's cooperation to pass the three laws, which can be done within this month as the House has already passed them and there is nothing complicated. The laws have just been changed to be in line with the new constituency allocation."

Abhisit said he wanted to keep his promise and it would be for the Election Commission to schedule the election date and issue regulations, which can be done in the meantime before the laws are endorsed.

Last Monday, the Senate agreed with the principles of the three organic laws - on the election and the appointment of senators, the Election Commission and political parties.

A senatorial panel was given one week to deliberate on the laws and bring them to the Senate meeting again tomorrow. Some expect the laws to be passed within one day.

Rosana said she disagrees with the practice of setting a deadline for the Senate to pass the three organic laws related to the election by tomorrow.
There are still debatable issues in some of the legislation, including advance voting, which some senators said should be removed as it opened the way for electoral fraud.

"I don't understand why the House dissolution deadline must have been set to within the first week of May, and the Senate expected to expedite all the [law-making] process for that. If this is done, deliberation on the laws will not be careful enough," she said. "The country is heading for an election, hence all sides should create an atmosphere of being reasonable and make the process as good as possible to prevent future problems," she added.

Senators, including those who are newly selected, deserve a chance to discuss the laws until April 25, Rosana said. The scrutinising panel could then bring the amended version to the Senate meeting on May 2. The laws would be passed then if the Senate agrees with the version proposed by the House. Otherwise a joint House-Senate committee must be set up and work on the laws for about two weeks. The premier could dissolve the House by the end of May in that case.

Rosana's remarks were similar to those of Ratchaburi senator Kecha Saksomboon, a member of the senatorial panel scrutinising the laws, who had said the House dissolution should be postponed to after May 10 to get the organic laws ready in time.

Deputy House Speaker Nikom Wairatpanij said yesterday he had no idea why the panel would not be able to finish its work and bring the laws to the Senate meeting by tomorrow, when the Senate whip had discussed the timeline earlier.

Bangkok MP Atavit Suwannapakdee, secretary of the government whip, on Friday said the government would try to push five bills through Parliament before dissolving the House and this may lead to a delay in the date of House dissolution.

The five laws are: the Consumer Protection Independent Organisation Act, Public Assembly Act, Social Security and Monetary Compensation Act, Environmental and Independent Health Organisation Act and the Thai Occupations Act.

In a separate development, Nikom, a candidate for the Senate Speaker's post, said the meeting to vote for the new speaker to replace outgoing Senate head Prasobsook Boondech has been set for April 22. Nominated candidates can present their visions for five to 10 minutes. After that, senators will receive envelopes for secret voting.

Chaiyasit, Wan to run for Pheu Thai

Chaiyasit, Wan to run for Pheu Thai

By The Nation on Sunday
Published on April 17, 2011

Pheu Thai Party yesterday unveiled General Chaiyasit Shinawatra, cousin of former premier Thaksin, as its MP candidate for Ratchaburi constituency 1.

Four other candidates for the party in the western province are all local politicians: Pongsak Kitprasert, Sayan Changpanich, Wasan Tiengtrong and Amporn Penthamrongrat.

In Bangkok, deputy spokesman Jirayu Huangsap introduced two new MP candidates for the capital: Wan Yoobamrung and Anuttama Amornwiwat. Wan is the son of veteran politician and former Pheu Thai MP Chalerm, while Anuttama is daughter of former Department of Special Investigation director-general and police chief Sombat.

Wan said he decided to run in the election as the popularity for his father and the party in the constituency was good. Anuttama, a former lecturer at Thammasat and Chulalongkorn universities, said she wanted to apply her knowledge and experience to develop Thai education.