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

PM to Decide on House Dissolution in 4 Months
31 July 2010

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has been quoted by as saying he will give MPs 4 months' time to prepare and by that time, if the situation in the country has returned to normal, he will consider a House dissolution.

He has also asked Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban to compile a list of names of MPs who often miss Parliament sessions.

thailandoutlook.tv

he will probably plant a bomb in a rubbish bin somewhere in 4 months time then throw up his hands and extend the SOE for another 6 months.

P.Thai: Govt to stay on until next April
31/07/2010

The Democrat-led coalition government will stay in power until next April as several factors support Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to continue running the country, Puea Thai MPs chairman Chalerm Yubamrung said on Saturday.

“The prime minister would not dissolve House of Representatives and call for fresh general election before the end of this year as speculated by various parties.

“There was a projection that Mr Abhisit would dissolve the lower House after the 2011 fiscal budget bill gets approval from the parliament and the military reshuffle is completed. But I do not think so”, said Mr Chalerm.

However, the Puae Thai Party was ready to join hands with other political parties if the House is dissolved, he said.

Mr Chalerm added that the opposition camp has authorized him to discuss the formation of a new government with Chartthai Pattana and Ruamjaithai Chartpattana parties once the House is dissolved.

bangkokpost.com

^^ red loonies alert !!!

PM denies House dissolution rumour
16/09/2010

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Thursday afternoon denied an opposition MP's claim he plans to dissolve the House of Representatives and call a snap election at the behest of a "charismatic person".

“I have no intention to dissolve the House as there is no situation that would require a dissolution. No highly charismatic person outside the government has pressured me to do so, as claimed,” said Mr Abhisit.

He said if he decided to dissolve the House he had experts who would to draft the necessary decree without having to use services of other lawyers.

Earlier this afternoon, Samut Prakan Puea Thai MP Pracha Prasopdee claimed that he had information the prime minister met with three or four law experts, including a person whose name starts with the letter “W”, at one or two days ago to draft the dissolution decree.

The House dissolution is set for October, according to Mr Pracha.

The Puea Thai MP then asked the personal spokesman of the Democrat leader Thepthai Senpong whether the report was true or not.

Mr Pracha asked: “Is it true that the key law expert is Wisanu Kruangam?”

bangkokpost.com

Originally Posted by Mid

a "charismatic person".

This has some kind of Mati Hari connotation to me.

Huge breasts draped in chiffon. A perfumed salon.

Originally Posted by The_Ghost_Of_The_Moog

Originally Posted by Mid

a "charismatic person".

This has some kind of Mati Hari connotation to me.

Huge breasts draped in chiffon. A perfumed salon.

I suspect that in the Thai language that the statement was made in, it was much clearer who he was refering to.
TH

Originally Posted by Butterfly

^^ red loonies alert !!!

Gay loonies alert

Originally Posted by The_Ghost_Of_The_Moog

Originally Posted by Mid

a "charismatic person".

This has some kind of Mati Hari connotation to me.

Huge breasts draped in chiffon. A perfumed salon.

In Thailand it means "a fat wallet"

http://www.siamdailynews.com/2010/10...solution-soon/

New Politics Party speculates House dissolution soon

New Politics Party cited the reason for not sending any candidate to the Surat Thani by-election that there would be House dissolution before the court ruled on the Democrat donation case.

New Politics Party Leader Somsak Kosaisuk joined the party committee meeting in Surat Thani on Tuesday. The party had chosen a candidate to run for the by-election in the southern province of Surat Thani’s constituency 1 in place of Democrat MP Chumpol Kanchana, who had been recently banned from politics for five years for false asset declaration.

However, Mr Somsak said it was now close to the end of this government and the party expected the Prime Minister would dissolve the House before the court rule on the Democrat’s donation case this November, therefore there was no point of running an election campaign.

The court will rule on the disbandment of the Democrat Party on grounds of breaching the Political Party Act by acquiring 258-million-baht donation from a cement manufacturing firm, Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI) Plc.

He also rejected the rumor that his party and the Democrat party had a secret deal by having no candidate from the New Politics Party so that the Democrats could easily win the election.

Reporter : Nuttaporn Chanchokpong
BANGKOK, 5 October 2010 (NNT)

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

No highly charismatic person outside the government has pressured me to do so, as claimed,” said Mr Abhisit.

And who might this person not have been?

Originally Posted by tomta

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Thursday afternoon denied an opposition MP's claim he plans to dissolve the House of Representatives and call a snap election at the behest of a "charismatic person".

Say what you mean, Abhisit, not these stupid clues. This childish talk is the plague of Thai politics.

A snap poll likely to happen early next year: Suwat

A snap poll likely to happen early next year: Suwat

The coalition alliance is likely to stay intact and the next poll will probably take place early next year, faction leader Suwat Liptapanlop of Ruam Chart Pattana Party said on Wednesday.

Suwat played down speculation about wavering loyatly of the coalition partners.

"I believe all parties are preparing for the next poll and that the reconciliation will be the campaigning highlight of every party," he said.

The Nation

Bangkok Post : Puea Thai gearing up for election

Puea Thai gearing up for election

• Published: 15/10/2010 at 04:00 PM
• Online news: Politics

The Puea Thai Party will set up a "war room" to make it better prepared for the next election in the hope to win more than one half of the House seats and have the legitimacy to form a government, party MPs chairman Chalerm Yubamrung said on Friday.

The "war room" to be set up is a brainchild of party chairman Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, he said.

Mr Chalerm said people to work in the "war room" would be retired military and police officers, most of them former graduates of Class 10 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School, who had joined the party but did not have any work to do in particular.

They included Gen Chaisit Shinawatra, a former army chief, Gen Sumeth Phomanee, Gen Panlop Pinmanee, Pol Gen Wichienchote Sukchoterat and Pol Gen Chamlong Iamchaengphan.

Mr Chalerm said members of a political group called Bangkok 50 had asked him to help organise a brainstorming session on the next election and he agreed to cooperate.

The session would not be to select candidates to run in Bangkok's constituencies because this is the responsibility of the party's Bangkok branch chairman Vicharn Minchainant, he said.

Mr Chalerm believed if Puea Thai did not win more than one half of the House seats it would not be able to form a government although it might come first with the highest number of MPs.

Therefore, it was necessary for the party to work harder, particularly in Bangkok where the Democrat Party now has more MPs.

He said the party was also required to pool its efforts to win more seats in Central provinces.

Wow, thats a refreshing change. Try to win more seats by actually electioneering, and getting your message out.

Maybe the brains trust behind the Democrats could learn something there, instead of bribing MP's and political factions.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...-the-northeast

Thaksin's 'last war' is warming up in the Northeast

• Published: 18/10/2010 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

With the bell yet to be rung, the two fired-up boxers are seething to get at each other and beat each other to a pulp in the fight of a lifetime which promises to be fierce and bloodthirsty.

That is how it looks now on the political front - spoiling for a fight with intense mutual animosity roiling through the camps of the Puea Thai and Bhumjaithai parties. In the Northeast, the main boxing ring for the two arch-rivals, a semblance of election fight fever can now be felt with huge campaign posters and billboards showcasing their potential candidates and policies springing up.

One Bhumjaithai poster screams out the party's amnesty plan to restore reconciliaton while calling for everyone to unite and protect the monarchy. Another poster which features a portrait of one of the party's potential candidates calls for collective resistance against the so-called "New Thai State", a proposed new political order initiated by some extreme ideologues of the red shirt movement.

On the Puea Thai side, several huge posters showcase its potential candidates and policy platform. For instance, the one seen in Nakhon Ratchasima announces the party's plan to solve the debt problem of the grass roots people.

Even if it is not known when exactly a general election will be staged, it appears that both the Puea Thai and Bhumjaithai parties do not want to waste any time waiting for the referee to yell "Fight!".

Many observers predict the election will likely be held early in the new year. Thammasat University rector Surapol Nitikraipote says January would be the right time. The election, he said, is the only viable solution to Thailand's protracted political conflict.

Expect election war drums to sound in earnest, initially in the northeastern battleground, once parliament goes into recess - tentatively scheduled for Nov 28. And the party which will hit the throttle hardest and quickest will be Puea Thai.

Billed as Thaksin's "last war", the election portends to be extremely fierce - if not outright violent - particularly in the northeastern region where a total of 135 House seats, the largest proportion of all the regions, will be contested. The party which wins the most seats in this region plus additional seats from other regions will surely emerge as the winner and legitimately claim the first right to form the next government.

Puea Thai has set its sights on forming a single-party government and aims to grab all 135 seats in the Northeast except for three in Buri Ram province, the solidly loyal home of Newin Chidchob, the de facto leader of Bhumjaithai.

With such ambitions and the high political stakes involved, the party's election campaign will be engineered by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra - via his proxies, of course. Since he cannot physically be here to lead the charge, it is expected he will move to somewhere closer to Thailand to supervise the election campaign.

Winning the election is seen as the only viable option for Thaksin to ever have a chance to return home, to clear himself of the two-year imprisonment verdict and all the pending cases against him and, ultimately, to pave the way for his political comeback. An amnesty plan, not only for Thaksin but for all, including red shirt and yellow shirt protesters, is likely to be the first piece of law tabled in parliament should the party win the election and manage to form a one-party government.

Since winning in the Northeast is extremely crucial to achieving its ultimate goal, the Puea Thai Party has found it necessary to undercut Bhumjaithai and stage a pre-emptive strike. Hence, the planned launch of an election campaign immediately the parliament goes into recess next month.

Gen Panlop Pinmanee, former deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command, and Pol Lt-Gen Chat Kuladilok, a deputy party leader, have been tasked with leading a group of retired police and army generals to campaign in Buri Ram reportedly to tie down Newin in his home province so he will have to worry about his own backyard, thus neutralising his efforts to help Bhumjaithai members in other constituencies.Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, the party's chief adviser, will also help out in the Northeast with special focus on Nakhon Phanom and Ubon Ratchathani - strongholds of Bhumjaithai and the Democrats respectively.

Of course, Thaksin will play the key role. As it is believed by the party that Thaksin's name is still marketable among the northeastern electorate, his portrait will be side by side with those of the party's candidates in all Puea Thai posters, billboards, leaflets and other campaign materials.

Three new populist policies have already been devised to add to the party's policy platform during the campaign. They are a 300 baht minimum wage, 15,000 baht per kwien (1,5 tonnes) of paddy and 15,000 baht basic salary for employees with a BA degree.

The three policies are smart and bound to hit home. They aim to solicit support and, hopefully, votes from three large groups of people - manual workers, college graduates who number in the tens of thousands each year and millions of rice farmers.

Just imagine how many people in the Northeast who are farmers and manual workers who sell their labour in the cities will be attracted by these promises from Puea Thai. Whether such promises will be realised or not is another question. The trick is to get their votes first.

As the Puea Thai and Bhumjaithai parties are busily gearing up for the election battle in the Northeast, the Democrats have been strangly muted. They have not erected a single poster or billboard in the region.

Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Bangkok Post.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

As it is believed by the party that Thaksin's name is still marketable among the northeastern electorate, his portrait will be side by side with those of the party's candidates in all Puea Thai posters, billboards, leaflets and other campaign materials.

Which, seeing as he is a convicted criminal and banned from politics, will probably be sufficient reason for the EC to annull the results and dissolve their party.

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1036610

PM Pledges Early House Dissolution

UPDATE : 27 October 2010

The prime minister pledges to dissolve the House next year for a fresh election in hope of seeing restoration of peace in the country.

Speaking during his special lecture on the risks facing Thai economy, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he will not stay in power through the end of his term in order to make way for the election next year.

Abhisit said he hoped that next year's election will help restore national peace and stability even though his ruling Democrat Party might lose.

He expressed concern that some groups are still attempting to prevent efforts to rebuild peace in the country, given several recent bomb attacks


The prime minister, however, has not determined if the election will take place at the beginning of next year.

Abhisit also remarked his election plan contained no ulterior motive to put Democrats at advantage in the poll.

let's hope they cancel the election, the last thing we need is a fascist group like PT to take over and destroy what remains of the Democratic institutions here

Originally Posted by Butterfly

let's hope they cancel the election, the last thing we need is a fascist group like PT to take over and destroy what remains of the Democratic institutions here

Wouldn't cancelling the election destroy what remains of the Democratic institutions here. Why have a democracy when you don't bother to have elections, or play silly buggers behind the scenes to put the party who would not get voted in otherwise into government.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home...-30141002.html

PM promises general election next year

By The Nation
Published on October 28, 2010

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva stressed yesterday that he would prefer to lose the election if his winning could lead to violence, while adding there "will definitely be a general election next year".

"I will opt for losing an election if that will restore peace in the country, rather than achieve an election victory that will lead to violence. I hope the election next year will be smooth. If that is the case, there will be political stability and we will get closer to normalcy," he said.

He was not specific about when he would dissolve the House and call an election, but said he had no intention of staying on until his term ends in early 2012.

Abhisit, who is the Democrat Party leader, was delivering a speech on "Thailand's Economic Risks and Government Cooperation" at a seminar organised by the Economic Reporters Association at Sofitel Centara Grand Hotel.

He said political risks remain, as certain groups of people do not want peace to be restored in the country, as manifested by the recent violent incidents, including bomb attacks.
"But we will be able to hold a peaceful election," he said.

Although it appeared he had no ambition to remain in power, he said the public's welfare was paramount in his mind.

"I don't like it if there's bloodshed although I may win the election. I prefer to lose the election if there's peace and our country can go on. It's not about the party's time in power, it's rather about benefits for the country when the election is peaceful," he said.

Actually I think it is the other way around, if he doesn't win the election, the tanks will roll in again...

with everything they have to lose, there is not a snowflakes chance in hell of letting the opposition back in power.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/poli...early-election

PM reinforces vow for early election

Nation's peace, stability are important, he says

• Published: 28/10/2010 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has confirmed he plans to call a general election before his government's term of office expires at the end of next year.

Mr Abhisit said be would dissolve the House of Representatives to make way for a snap poll.

"There will be elections for sure next year," he told an economic forum yesterday. "The government has no plan to stay in office and complete its term."

Mr Abhisit said he did not mind losing the election if it could bring peace and order to the nation.

"I don't want to win on the nation's bloodshed," the Democrat Party leader said.

He said he would try his best in the meantime to minimise risks to people's security and ensure peace and political stability.

The Oct 5 bomb blast at an apartment in Nonthaburi's Bang Bua Thong district was a strong indication of violent elements at play, he said.

The prime minister said after the forum he could not be specific about the month when the election would be held next year.

He responded to an observation that the ruling party enjoyed popularity and it might want to cash in by holding an early election by saying a victory by his Democrat Party was not his ultimate goal.

"We're not waiting for timing. We want the country to benefit from a peaceful election," he said.

Mr Abhisit's confirmation of an early election comes against the backdrop of his government's national reconciliation efforts following political violence in April and May.

He has proposed a reconciliation road map and set up panels to seek the truth about the violence, study charter amendments and push reconciliation.

Meanwhile, Boonjong Wongtrairat, deputy leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, said yesterday his party supported proposed constitutional amendments involving the selection of MPs and senators.

He said the party's stance was in line with a study by a panel looking into charter amendments chaired by academic Sombat Thamrongthanyawong.

The Sombat committee's review of charter changes is expected to be considered by the cabinet next week.

The panel has reviewed five areas of the 2007 constitution. Its proposed amendments involve the dissolution of political parties and the banning of their executives from politics for serious breaches of election laws; the procedure to become an MP; the procedure to become a senator; international treaties requiring parliamentary endorsement; and intervention by MPs in the administration and budgeting of government projects.

Mr Boonjong said the Democrat Party would need to provide a proper explanation if it decided not to support any of the amendments.

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1036663

Not Serving Full Term?

UPDATE : 28 October 2010

I’ve got to say that it is nothing new that Thailand’s 27th prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has reiterated his promise that there will be a fresh general election next year.
 


In a seminar titled “Risks Facing the Thai Economy and the GDP growth in 2011”, which took place at Vibhavadi Ballroom, Sofitel Centara Grand Ladprao Hotel, organized by the Economic Reporters Association chaired by Jatuporn Iamsa-ard, the prime minister highlighted political problems as one of four major risk factors that could adversely impact the economy.



“I once spoke clearly that I would not mind losing an election if that would help restore peace to the nation, rather than winning it and letting violence happen. I really hope that there will be a fresh general election next year without any problems. I expect that would help stabilize our political situation and allow normalcy to be restored.”, said Abhisit.
 


Although the premier was clear he expected a round of fresh general election to be held next year, he hasn't decided on the exact month.

“People always told me to dissolve the House when my approval rating is still high and I replied to them that I didn’t care about that. I want no more bloodshed. I’d rather lose the election so that the country can remain peaceful and move forward". He continued to say "My goal in an election does not depend on his party but on the interest of the whole nation and the people. That’s all I want". 


Despite Abhisit’s good intention, some government coalition partners like the Chart Thai Pattana Party have backed him to serve a full term. 
But the fact, is there has to be an election next year, as the House of Representatives will have completed its four-year term in December.

So what did Abhisit really mean when he said his administration would not “stay the full term”?



Let’s look at one possible explanation. We might know the answer as soon as November 29, when the Constitutional Court is scheduled to hand down its verdict on the Democrat Party dissolution case. If the Court resolved to dissolve the party, it has yet to be known whether the party or only its leader will be stripped off its political rights for five years. If it is the latter case, the party’s current executive committee has to be replaced, but the House can stay on. And the fortune might smile on Chuan Leekpai, Suthep Thaugsuban, or Major General Sanan Kachornprasart, all prospects to be elected to take over the fort.
 


But if Abhisit retains the premier post, we have to determine what conditions he will use in justifying his decision, be it the rise in the government’s approval rating thanks to its role in handling the flood crisis, or the progress of charter amendment efforts or investigations into the violent protest earlier this year. Or he might wait until Parliament endorses the 2012 budget bill or an annual reshuffle of government officials during August and September next year.
 


Typically, a government will dissolve the House when it has the upper hand on everything.

That Abhisit said he was not concerned about who will win or lose and that he only cared about how to bring peace back to the country could just be a sugar-coated statement. Go ask all those politicians “who would want to lose an election?” I bet none of them would say they do.



Taken from Khom Kid Khon Khien column, Daily News newspaper, page 3, October 28th, 2010

Written by Khon Na Saam

Translated and rewritten by Wacharapol Isaranont

Please note that the views expressed in our "Analysis" segment are translated from local newspaper articles and do not reflect the views of the Thai-ASEAN News Network.