Prayut claims election date is firm, despite concern over MP bill

By WASAMON AUDJARINT 
THE NATION

 

 

WHILE THE POTENTIAL review of the MP election bill by the Constitution Court has caused concerns of a further election delay, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has vowed the process will not affect the road map.

 

The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) had dropped the MP election bill like a hot potato, passing it to the prime minister to decide whether the bill needed a court review to make sure it was constitutional.

 

If the court deems it is constitutional, it could be passed into law. If not, the NLA would have to take time to correct it accordingly.

 

Prayut said yesterday that the governments’ legal experts were still considering whether to submit it for judicial review but that the Cabinet should be able to forward the draft for royal endorsement by April 12, before the long Songkran holiday begins.

 

“The thing is that we have to make sure there won’t be legal conflicts that will cause trouble during the royal consideration process,” he said.

 

NLA President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said yesterday that the bill had been submitted to the PM and, constitutionally, he had the authority to send it to the Constitutional Court himself, bypassing the NLA.

 

Legislators’ inconsistency

 

Before that, some political observers were already criticising the inconsistency among legislators, questioning why they would challenge the very bill they had written themselves and whether this was another conspiracy to postpone the poll.

 

The atmosphere of mistrust grew after the NLA put off the enforcement of the bill by three months after its |promulgation, delaying the election by the same amount of time.

 

The bill had already been passed twice in normal legislative sessions and was then also reviewed by a joint committee comprising the NLA, the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), and the Election Commission (EC).

 

However, the CDC still advised that it be submitted for judicial review.

 

They argued that a clause that allows electoral officials to assist physically challenged or disabled voters in the poll booth might pose problems, as the Constitution requires votes to be cast in secret.

 

Letting this slide could bring down the entire election because, at some stage in the future, someone might refer the issue to the Constitutional Court, the CDC reasoned.

 

In a related development, Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday offered his support for the constitutionality review, for the sake of clarity, but he added that Prayut should ensure it was still possible to hold an election in February.

 

He said the PM could consider cutting the postponement of the enforcement down to 60 or 30 days from the current 90 days.

 

“This depends on how sincere the PM is, because he has the authority to do it or he can order the NLA to do it,” Abhisit said.

 

Pheu Thai Party legal expert Chusak Sirinil, meanwhile, questioned whether the government was playing a game and stalling for time.

 

Legislators could have written the bill in line with the charter but they didn’t, he said.

 

“If they really do it [send the bill for review], they will have to start over until they can seek royal endorsement again,” Chusak said.

 

“We don’t know how long the court will take to review the bill and if they rule it is unconstitutional, the amendment will take some time. So, the election will definitely be delayed.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30341892

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-28

35 minutes ago, webfact said:

Legislators could have written the bill in line with the charter but they didn’t, he said.

ok they wrote an illegal law, and thus were themselves doing something illegal

3 hours ago, webfact said:

why they would challenge the very bill they had written themselves

To remain on the side of common decency, the challenge is to come up with an answer not containing "idiots, stupid, halfwits or retards" 

 

Because any such comparison would be an insult to idiots, the stupid, halfwits and retards everywhere

4 hours ago, YetAnother said:

ok they wrote an illegal law, and thus were themselves doing something illegal

Brilliant move tho'

 

Now we cannot have an election until all the laws that we passed ourselves have been reviewed-by us!

 

That process should  take..about 20 years...I guess.

 

Complete neuron annihilating flapdoodlery.

 

Shangri-La.

Edited March 28, 20188 yr by Odysseus123

Out of all the issues that could of been ruled upon, these particular 2 do not look like those of that much importance on the grand scale of things. I wonder why these ones are proving the most contentious, when others far more contentious have sailed through without a squeak. It does appear like they are trying to make this an issue.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

“We don’t know how long the court will take to review the bill and if they rule it is unconstitutional, the amendment will take some time. So, the election will definitely be delayed.”

" My fortune-teller told, that year 2032 will be a good year for elections"

Seriously time for the Thai people to hit the streets, and tell the dinosaurs....enough is enough.....!!

Just one of 365 fools days in LOS.

I've always had difficulty in finding accurate road maps of Thailand. It seems the one Prayut keeps talking about has yet to be printed, or is just a figment of his blinkered military imagination!

5 hours ago, webfact said:

General Prayut Chan-o-cha has vowed the process will not affect the road map.

 

No, cause the road map has the Junta in power for the next xxx years... The election will be delayed indefinitely though..

It's reached the point where, quite frankly, any intelligent person would not waste too much time on reading in full what these liars and freedom-smashers are saying. We know that truth and the junta are utterly alien concepts that simply cannot be conjoined. These dinosaurs (oh, so tiresome that we cannot use honest language here) just keep coming out with more intelligence-insulting drivel: 'road map, road map, road map'. For God's sake! Do these morons think people actually believe there ever was a meaningful roadmap to democracy? No! There is only a roadmap (if any) to ongoing servitude and bondage.

 

But the Thais go on lapping it all up. Have you got your wais and smiles ready, Thais, and your grovelling - for when the next Grown Up ('puu-yai') from the junta visits your village or town and pats you on the head ...?

 

Edited March 28, 20188 yr by Eligius

7 hours ago, webfact said:

This depends on how sincere the PM is

Lest we be reminded:

During the political crisis that began in November 2013 and involved protests against the caretaker government of Yingluck, Prayut claimed that the army was neutral, and would not launch a coup.

http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Prayut_Chan-o-cha

"Sincerity: if you can fake it, you've got it made." Daniel Schorr

Prayut is a Made man.

5 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Brilliant move tho'

 

Now we cannot have an election until all the laws that we passed ourselves have been reviewed-by us!

 

That process should  take..about 20 years...I guess.

 

Complete neuron annihilating flapdoodlery.

 

Shangri-La.

The only possible change we will see after an "election" under a junta is the dress code of the rulers. Only one thing remains:

"Beware men in suits (or period costumes) the same as soldiers in uniform. One may kill you the other will take away your will to live."

Just message us on Twitter when your desk is empty please

Have you booked the Mercedes removal can.. To collect your nest from.Pension House?

Or.should l.book a taxi for you sir.

Quite brilliant postings, thank you for caring. The West is  in total ignorance about Eastern events, and vice versa, busy <deleted> and vice versa,  the headline says firm date, the article gives no date, it was disturbing when Prayut said he was the best man for the job, no need to change, Duerte, Xi, Trumptydumpty,  PUtin, all anti democratic, reactionary, backwards egoists, serving kleptocrats who need phasing out , like in Denmark, thank God for Europe

Which date is 'firm'? 

 

any time he say's that serious doubts arise that he is working to the Gregorian calendar but rather to the Prayutogohok version. Time for another song Prime Minister?

 

"I've got no strings
To hold me down
To make me fret
Or make me frown
I had strings
But now I'm free
There are no strings on me"

 

 

was there ever a date given?

19 minutes ago, toddsaed said:

was there ever a date given?

No, there has NEVER been an exact date given for the 'election' - quite deliberately, of course (because there certainly is not going to be any GENUINE election at all!).

The election date is firm.

 

I believe him.

 

It will be when they feel 100% sure that one of their surrogates wins and Prayuth is return as PM by the grace of their democratic gerrymandering.

 

Just don't hold your breath.

Along with the constant delays is no doubt the planning of brutal control of public discontent.