Thread: Thai elections 2011-Thai PM sets stage for tough election

Well whatever you have all been arguing about for the past few weeks all speculation is about to be tested. Yesterday the first of the pick ups with the loudspeakers came through my village extolling the virtues of a candidate, incidentally #1 on the list Pheu Thai. The billboard on the side of the vehicle showed a picture of Yingluck together with the local candidate. I must say that Yingluck is much better looking. Can't wait for 3rd July as it means that we will not be bombarded with loudspeaker propoganda 10 hours a day.

Originally Posted by barrybankruad

I must say that Yingluck is much better looking.

They used to call her Poo, but changed it to Pou. What area are you in? Any talk of money being offered? Are the locals actively discussing the election and each parties policies or are the generally uninterested?

^ yep, I hate them too.

^ deteriorated from where?

MrT fought the army/blueblood owned/controlled media.

You could say that the right of the German people deteriorated under Churchill due to British bombing, but you need to add a little bit more conetxt and historical relevance...

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

^ deteriorated from where?

From 'free' to 'partly free' and plummeted in the rankings of organizations who rank press freedom, it can be seen on their websites and is a matter of historical record.

Originally Posted by Buksida

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

^ deteriorated from where?

From 'free' to 'partly free' and plummeted in the rankings of organizations who rank press freedom.

Get over it.

It was not free or partly free. It was one single voice; army/blueblood.

Your words that it "plummeted in the rankings of organizations who rank press freedoms" sounds quite (well perhaps to naive folk) impressive, but it is just propaganda and spin.

I sit down talking to Thais (Professors) who have worked at Chula/Thammasat/Silpakorn over the last 40-50 years, and they tell me that what you say is just untrue. I believe them.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Originally Posted by Buksida

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

^ deteriorated from where?

From 'free' to 'partly free' and plummeted in the rankings of organizations who rank press freedom.

Get over it.

It was not free or partly free. It was one single voice; army/blueblood.

Your words that it "plummeted in the rankings of organizations who rank press freedoms" sounds quite (well perhaps to naive folk) impressive, but it is just propaganda and spin.

I sit down talking to Thais (Professors) who have worked at Chula/Thammasat/Silpakorn over the last 40-50 years, and they tell me that what you say is just untrue. I believe them.

When did sit down to ask them? I only posted it a few mins ago.

^ insults and spin... typical...





\/ thanks, but you may want to add some more arrows...



\/ there you go, but it was funnier with just the one arrow, imho.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

The press has never been really free here (it has gotten worse now and it has been better in the past, but it has always been influenced). The army has nearly always interfered here (again, the level to which they have has fluctuated, and it is worse now, but when you have so many generals, it is never going to go away).

I agree, except the word 'nearly'.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Rupert Murdoch is doing very well here...who do you think owns Star Movies, Star World...it is an offshoot of FOX....and he certainly doesn't rock the boat here....oh no!

He just has channel content, no distribution, he has no power at all; if the network don't want it or they want to cut it, it's off...

Bangkok Post : Banharn: Woman PM 'wouldn't be bad'

Banharn: Woman PM 'wouldn't be bad'

• Published: 27/05/2011 at 02:58 PM
• Online news:

Chartthaipattana chief adviser and former prime minister Banharn Silpa-archa says having a female prime minister would be 'not bad', but also says the Democrat Party would have a tough time replacing its leader Abhisit Vejjajiva if he resigns.

"Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra might choose his youngest sister and Pheu Thai's No.1 party list candidate Yingluck Shinawatra for the prime minister's post.

"It's nice that Thailand might have its first woman prime minister. I think it's not bad," Mr Banharn said on Friday.

On Ms Yingluck's comment that the next premier could be someone else, instead of a party's top candidate, Mr Banharn said Ms Yingluck was just being humble and that Thaksin, who is living abroad, has not made the decision yet.

He said the Democrat Party would not likely let its leader and caretaker Prime Minister Abhisit leave the party.

It would not be easy for the Democrats to find a replacement for Mr Abhisit because party's chief adviser, former prime minister Chuan Leekpai, would not likely return to the political arena and Democrat key figure and caretaker Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij was not expected to take the top position yet, Mr Banharn said.

However, everyone had the right to aspire to be prime minister and there was still a chance that Mr Abhisit would return as head of the government after the election.

He said a political party must win, or put together, more than 300 seats in the July 3 general election if it wants to form a government.

"In this election, if a party has only slightly more than half of the seats it would need support from coalition partners because cabinet ministers are not allowed to vote," the political veteran said.

He expected the Chartthaipattana Party to win about 30 seats in the House of Representatives.

When reporters asked Mr Banharn whether his party and Thaksin would join hands if Pheu Thai wins the polls, he said that was for the future to decide, but his party will maintain its alliance with the Bhumjaithai Party.

He said the Chartthaipattana and Bhumjaithai parties would have a meeting on the election next week.

The Chartthaipattana chief adviser said he would accept all calls, from both the Democrats and Pheu Thai.

"If there is no conclusion as to who will be the next prime minister, I will propose Chartthaipattana chief adviser Sanan Kachornprasart.

"This is my personal opinion because I've been banned from politics for five years and I have two years left," he said.

"And if Pheu Thai proposes amnesty, I would support it because Chartthaipattana proposed it earlier," Mr Banharn said.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

MrT only looks good when compared to Abhisit, Prem and a variety of other army dictators...

Sometimes it's better to be realistic and settle for something that although not perfect, can be considered a lot better than we have now.

As far as true democracy is concerened, I'm sure that won't be achieved here for a very long time if ever.

Saying that, if the Thai "cake" could be shared a little fairer and there's a general improvement for the very poor here then I'd settle for that.

As far as the war on drug dealers is concerned, of course that doesn't fit with any democracy but sometimes a democracy is far from perfect especially in todays world of the so called free market economy.

There's a little too much historical and detailed discussion about the past and what happened under who and why. I think it's important to look back over the last ten years and compare the first five years with what's happened since 2006.

It's been a farce with never ending spin, lies and corruption with little justice for anyone apart from a very privileged few.

Originally Posted by SteveCM

Yingluck is campaigning to revive Thaksin's populist policies and raise living standards.

Lets hope she's successful in doing that...she's got my vote inspite of what "pupa" and the (very few) others say!

Asia Times Online :: Southeast Asia news and business from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam

May 28, 2011

Thailand: No peace through polls

By Nelson Rand and Chandler Vandergrift


UDON THANI and BANGKOK - Campaigning has begun in earnest for Thailand's general elections scheduled for July 3. Few observers believe the democratic vote will act to reconcile a prolonged political crisis and rising social divisions.

The polls will be the second since a military coup ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006. Thaksin remains a significant and polarizing factor in Thai politics despite living in self-imposed exile since 2008 to avoid a two-year jail sentence for a corruption conviction.

The elections come in the wake of over five years of debilitating instability that has at times devolved into street violence. Armed exchanges between a pro-Thaksin protest group and security forces last year resulted in 91 mostly civilian fatalities. Neither side has accepted responsibility for the death and destruction.

"There is no scenario from this election that will work," said David Streckfuss, an independent academic based in northeast Thailand. "No matter what the result is, Thailand's political crisis will not be over. Round three is coming."

The divisions are most noticeable in the highly fractured, color-coded protest movements and their competing stances on the elections. For Thailand's "red shirts", formally known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), the early elections are long overdue and have been the group's main rally cry since it began street protests in 2009.

Mostly Thaksin supporters, the protest group views the incumbent Democrat Party-led government of interim prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as illegitimate because it came to power in a parliamentary vote following the dissolution of the pro-Thaksin People's Power Party (PPP)-led administration in December 2008. That vote is widely believed to have been influenced from behind the scenes by the military.

New elections was the group's main demand during last year's prolonged demonstrations, though the group refused to dismantle their protest site in the center of Bangkok after Abhisit offered to hold early polls in November. Many speculated at the time that was because Abhisit's offer did not include an amnesty for Thaksin. Weeks later the military moved to dislodge the protest, resulting in some of the worst political violence in the country's modern history.

"The UDD sees the parliament's dissolution and a general election as the first step towards returning power back to the people," the group said in a statement earlier this month following Abhisit's dissolution of parliament.

Although not a formal political party - and indeed the group is just as much a social movement as a political one - the UDD is closely aligned with the opposition Puea Thai Party, the successor of the PPP and before that Thaksin's original Thai Rak Party, which was dissolved by a military tribunal following the 2006 coup.

Ten UDD leaders are running in the elections on the Puea Thai ticket, while the party is counting on the UDD network for campaigning and its support base for votes. In the red-shirt stronghold of Udon Thani province in northeast Thailand, UDD leaders and supporters say these elections are still very much about Thaksin.

"We want democracy, justice and for Thaksin to come back," said Kwanchai Praipana, leader of the "We Love Udon" UDD group, which claims to have 400,000 card-carrying members in the province of two million.

"I support Puea Thai because I love Thaksin," said UDD supporter Somkid Thirattana, a retired air force lieutenant. "We want him to come back as quickly as possible to be prime minister ... We don't care about the person [the local member of parliament], we vote for the party," he added, referring to Puea Thai.

Thaksin remains a key figure behind this election, even though he has been officially banned from politics and is a fugitive from Thai justice. He is clearly acting from exile as Puea Thai's leader, underscored by the appointment of his younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, as the party's candidate for prime minister.

While prime minister from 2001 to 2006, Thaksin's pro-poor populist polices won him widespread support among rural Thailand, especially in the north and northeast. That popularity ultimately contributed to his political downfall, as his accumulation of power threatened to tip the balance to the detriment of the royalist establishment.

Enter the other side of Thailand's divide, represented in part by the "yellow shirts", formally known as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and a newly formed splinter group, the Thai Patriots Network (TPN). The PAD has urged its supporters to boycott the polls and have called for a three to five year interregnum from democracy to "cleanse" Thai politics of corrupt politicians.

"We are against these elections," said an advisor to the TPN speaking on the condition of anonymity. "I still believe in democracy, I believe it's the best system on earth, but we have to press pause, we have to do something to stop the country's problems."

The "yellow shirt" movement is highly fractured, seen in its recent split from Abhisit's previously allied Democrats. That could divide and potentially diminish the anti-Thaksin vote if enough Thais heed the PAD's rally cry to boycott the vote. One of the PAD's controversial slogans is "Don't Let Animals Enter Parliament", in reference to the vote-buying and corruption prevalent in Thai politics.

Recent opinion polls show it will be a close race between the Democrats and Puea Thai, with neither party expected to win an outright majority. Smaller parties will thus play a decisive role in determining which party will form the next government.

A Puea Thai-led government would risk a backlash from the military and royalist establishment, which has consistently tried to undermine Thaksin and some believe has the power to reignite "yellow shirt" protests. A Democrat-led government would risk further UDD protests and potential violence by its militant fringes.

Although UDD leaders say they will accept the election results as long as the polls are free and fair, in all likelihood they will not view them as such if the Democrats win. Moreover, they also say it will be unacceptable if Puea Thai wins the most votes but is not allowed to lead a coalition government.

"If Puea Thai is the top vote-getting party and yet we are not allowed to form the government - that outside powers interfere and bring another government to power - then we will continue our struggle," UDD co-leader and Puea Thai candidate Natthawut Saikua told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand last month.

"If the elections are just, if the Democrat Party wins the election fair and square, then we will accept that government [as] elected by the people," he added.

Some analysts and activists contend that the elections will not be fully free and fair due to the government's clamp down on freedom of expression, including the recent shuttering of 13 "red shirt"-affiliated radio stations, the jailing of UDD leaders Jatuporn Promphan and Nisit Sinthuprai for making public remarks allegedly offensive to the monarchy and widespread censorship of the Internet.

"The upcoming elections can hardly be credible if the government closes down opposition radio stations and websites," Brad Adams, Asia director at the United States-based Human Rights Watch said in a recent statement. "This government came into office saying it was committed to protecting rights, but it has become the most prolific censor in recent Thai history."

At the same time, UDD supporters been accused of harassing Abhisit on the campaign trail, actions that could result in the Puea Thai's legal disbandment if the Election Commission (EC) finds they are supported by the party. Abhisit slammed the EC earlier this week for failing to take action against the UDD-aligned perpetrators.

With questions already being raised about the electoral playing field, increasingly it seems the poll result will be hotly contested by the losing party.

"We will have problems for many more years," said the TPN advisor. "Violence will likely continue for quite some time until people realize that this is not the way forward - for the land of smiles to be the land of blood."


Nelson Rand is a Bangkok-based journalist with a master's degree in Asia-Pacific policy studies. He can be reached at nelsonrand[at]hotmail.com. Chandler Vandergrift is a consultant specializing in conflict analysis and management in Southeast Asia and is based in Bangkok. He can be reached at chandlerv[at]gmail.com

Thai-ASEAN News Network

Army Chief Ensures No Internvnetion into Politics

UPDATE : 27 May 2011

The army's chief maintains he will not meddle in the politics both before or after the election.

Army's chief General Prayudh Jan-o-char said the army must protect the Democracy Constitutional Monarchy as it is the system the people recognize and in existence for a long period of time.

Prayudh maintained the army will not help any certain party and the formation of the new government after the election will not take place in a military camp.


The general then said the law allows any party to muster most votes in the House to form the government and the criticisms over the matter should be matter after the election.

Prayudh then suggested none or party get the army involved in politics and there should be no use of violence.

He pledged the army will not meddle in politics both before or after the election.

He remarked the permission for Mathubhum Party, General Sondhi Bunyaratkarin, also the former army chief to further stay in his official houses in the premise of the 11th Infantry Regiment was in line with the army's disciplinary and his retired predecessor created a lot of merits to the agency.

Prayudh said Sondhi's political role is a personal decision that he must respect as he is less senior, accepted his political activities in a military camp may have negative impact on the army.

The general said Sondhi himself may be inconvenient so and he is unsure id the people could feel the same.

Originally Posted by SteveCM

At the same time, UDD supporters been accused of harassing Abhisit on the campaign trail, actions that could result in the Puea Thai's legal disbandment if the Election Commission (EC) finds they are supported by the party.

Shouldn't be too difficult for Abi to set this one up?

^ Not necessarily "Abi" but any of a number of operators who don't want to see the (promised) election play out (relatively) fair and square. With all the accusations and warnings of it happening, it would be useful to see any dependable reports of it actually happening.....

Thai caretaker Prime Minister and leader of Democrat party Abhisit Vejjajiva demonstrates his cooking skills preparing fried dough during an election campaign for his party in Bangkok Friday, May 27, 2011. Thailand will hold general elections on July 3, 2011.

Thai caretaker Prime Minister and leader of Democrat party Abhisit Vejjajiva demonstrates his cooking skills preparing fried dough during an election campaign for his party in Bangkok Friday, May 27, 2011. Thailand will hold general elections on July

^ Old Samak will be turning in his grave.

SteveCM has posted several photo's showing the massively attended rallies of Yingluck, as in Post #1262 above.

Where are photo's of Abhisit rallies?

Or are we back in double-standard territory where the huge rallies of The Democracy Movement were discounted.

Almost as if her rallies need to generate 10-times the crowd of his in order to be noted.

Originally Posted by Calgary

Where are photo's of Abhisit rallies?

There aren't any!

Originally Posted by Calgary

Almost as if her rallies need to generate 10-times the crowd of his in order to be noted.

TIT.