After disputed election, Thailand expected to keep junta leader as PM

[webfact]

After disputed election, Thailand expected to keep junta leader as PM

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat

 

FILE PHOTO: Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha casts his ballot to vote in the general election at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's pro-army Palang Pracharat party was looking for coalition partners on Thursday from a wide field of potential allies as it seeks to keep military junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led a 2014 coup, in office as prime minister.

 

The party is expected to easily form the next government, since it needs only a few more votes in the elected House of Representatives to choose the prime minister under complicated new electoral rules written by the military regime.

 

Palang Pracharat is expected to be joined by the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties as well as 11 other smaller parties that are not affiliated with either the pro-army camp or the Democratic Front of parties opposing the military, said Yuttaporn Issarachai, a political scientist from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University,

 

"Prayuth will certainly be prime minister," under this scenario, he said, but he added that the government would likely be unstable, with only a slim majority in the House.

 

Leaders of the Democratic Front have cried foul and threatened legal action, saying both the electoral system and the Election Commission were biased toward extending the military regime.

 

Election officials and Palang Pracharat deny the accusation.

 

The Democratic Front of seven parties is led by the Pheu Thai party loyal to exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

 

Pro-Thaksin parties had won every election since then but each time saw its governments ousted by legal rulings and coups.

 

In the latest intervention, the military in 2014 toppled a government that had been led by Thaksin's sister.

 

It still could be weeks before a new government is formed, even though the pro-junta party is in a favourable position.

 

Palang Pracharat's most obvious potential allies are the pro-establishment Democrat Party and the Bhumjaithai party, which campaigned on marijuana legalisation among other issues.

 

The Democrats won 52 seats and Bhumjaithai 51, meaning that either could push Palang Pracharat, which won 115 seats, well over the magic number of 126 votes needed in the House to approve the prime minister under the new system.

 

The Democrats' spokesman, Thana Chiravinij, told Reuters the party would meet next week to decide whether it would join with Palang Pracharat in government or form an "independent opposition".

 

But he said the Democrats would never join the Democratic Front because it is led by the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai. Prominent members of the pro-establishment Democrat Party in 2014 led protests against the civilian government led by Thaksin's sister, with some openly calling for military intervention.

 

Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul was not available for comment but he said on Facebook that the party "is still listening to the people".

 

'WHITEWASHING EFFORT'

The new post-coup constitution calls for the 250-seat Senate, appointed entirely by the junta, to vote along with the 500-seat elected House of Representatives to choose the prime minister.

 

Involving the Senate effectively gives pro-army parties a head start of 250 votes to get to the required majority of 376 in the combined House and Senate vote.

 

By contrast, the Democratic Front has virtually no chance of forming a government thanks to the appointed Senate.

 

"Thailand isn't returning to democracy," said Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of the Faculty of Political Science at Ubon Ratchathani University.

 

"The election was a whitewashing effort for the military to stay in power so that they can tell the international community that they are an elected government," he said.

 

The Democratic Front also complained it was denied what it had expected to be majority of 255 seats in the House of Representatives when the Election Commission decided to use a new formula in allocating seats.

 

The new formula gave 11 tiny parties one seat each, with most of them taken from the anti-military Future Forward Party, part of the opposition alliance.

 

Under the new formula, the Democratic Front won 245 seats in the House - just short of the majority it had hoped would give it leverage to block legislation if Prayuth remained prime minister.

 

Pheu Thai on Wednesday said it would use every legal channel to fight the Election Commission's formula.

 

(Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-09

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[Thaiwrath]

9 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thailand expected to keep junta leader as PM

[MadMac]

Comes as a shock, but where are the official results? Today is 9th May?!

[unamazedloso]

Yeh a shocker!! PM is too good. Been counting all the votes himself i guess given the time needed to count... 

[Pattaya28]

Well all knew the result before the election, so no surprises here.

[KiChakayan]

They expect the "international community" to believe that military has been democratically elected!! ????????????????

[geoffbezoz]

Just now, KiChakayan said:

They expect the "international community" to believe that military has been democratically elected!! ????????????????

There is only one thing "international" that the Junta and their backers are concerned about, and it is not the community. Its the International offshore banks where there ill gotten gains are banked.

[Artisi]

16 minutes ago, MadMac said:

Comes as a shock, but where are the official results? Today is 9th May?!

Official results, you want official results, be careful - right thinking can easily be arranged for you with attitude adjustment. 

[RobMuir]

34 minutes ago, MadMac said:

Comes as a shock, but where are the official results? Today is 9th May?!

Try google? The tv. A newspaper.

 

 

[flyingtlger]

50 minutes ago, webfact said:

After disputed election, Thailand expected to keep junta leader as PM....

Business as usual....

 

[holy cow cm]

40 minutes ago, unamazedloso said:

Yeh a shocker!! PM is too good. Been counting all the votes himself i guess given the time needed to count... 

It's not the self group imposed PM. He has other higher ups than him. 

[JonnyF]

Never saw that coming ????

[holy cow cm]

32 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

They expect the "international community" to believe that military has been democratically elected!! ????????????????

Yep you got it. They don't really care what anyone in any international community thinks. All they have to say it is recorded on paper and we won it honorably and democratically. 

[RobMuir]

The results give a clear winner. And considering first and third are united it makes it more clear. 

Blind Freddy can see Prayut won this election.

 

I also like how Peu Thai were not allowed any of the “special allocation” because they had too many won seats. But the Junta gave themselves 18

Edited May 9, 2019 by RobMuir

[happy chappie]

54 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

They expect the "international community" to believe that military has been democratically elected!! ????????????????

Yes of course that do and don't ask questions.

[djayz]

I didn't see that coming...

 

Is there any going back after this? What's next? A coup of the coup leaders? 

Edited May 9, 2019 by djayz

[Eric Loh]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

After disputed election, Thailand expected to keep junta leader as PM

So the next PM will be the one that was not elected by the people, lacking charisma, don't like debate, hate the media, lacking vision and prefer to copy and will not tolerate anyone seeking answers for his unusual wealth. Perfect candidate for an authoritarian government.  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

So the next PM will be the one that was not elected by the people, lacking charisma, don't like debate, hate the media, lacking vision and prefer to copy and will not tolerate anyone seeking answers for his unusual wealth. Perfect candidate for an authoritarian government.  

 

Ya, but he's a great song composer.... Shouldn't that be more than enough in terms of PM quals? 

[gunderhill]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

joined by the Democrats

SHAME ON YOU!

Edited May 9, 2019 by gunderhill

[gunderhill]

1 hour ago, unamazedloso said:

Yeh a shocker!! PM is too good. Been counting all the votes himself i guess given the time needed to count... 

Be fair he  only has 10  fingers and toes

[Sir Dude]

Every photo of him with that smug grin just makes my skin crawl. If justice could catch up with anyone then he would be my choice ... oh, sorry, Suthep the sewer dweller would probably just pip him into first place.

Edited May 9, 2019 by Sir Dude

[elliss]

 

  He has during his term in office provided  stability to Thailand .

The Thai economy is strong along with the Thai baht.

[Sunderland]

So much blatant cheating that the population has given up trying to change the status quo. There will be change one day in the future and it will be bloody.

Edited May 9, 2019 by Sunderland

[ocddave]

2 minutes ago, Sunderland said:

So much blatant cheating that the population has given up trying to change the status quo. There will be change one day in the future and it will be bloody.

Thai's lack the spine needed to do anything of the sort, they are happy being obedient serfs, nothing will happen.....just like all the other coups, wash, rinse, repeat.

[wotsdermatter]

Does anybody else remember, the 1970's song, "Send in the clowns?"

'nuf sed.

[Cadbury]

3 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

It's not the self group imposed PM. He has other higher ups than him. 

He's just the stand-in goose whose ego allows him to make a complete fool of himself. It is all about image; of which he has none.

The heavies need a fall guy in case everything turns to shiet.

Then they will turn on him. "Prayut did it";  and they will hold their hands skywards and say ......it wasn't us.

Edited May 9, 2019 by Cadbury

[geoffbezoz]

47 minutes ago, ocddave said:

Thai's lack the spine needed to do anything of the sort, they are happy being obedient serfs, nothing will happen.....just like all the other coups, wash, rinse, repeat.

Very true.  "Gutless and poorly trained cowards" they were once called by a US Army General I understand. Obedient lazy surfs is possibly more of an accurate description for the Thai male although of course that is an unfair generalisation perhaps as clearly if they were all lazy you would not have the top 10% working flat out with their graft projects

[sammieuk1]

Guess there is still a couple of buy outs golden hello's to be done then its back to the same old blagging again you would think this would send the currency plummeting like other country's but?????    

[elliss]

3 hours ago, elliss said:

 

  He has during his term in office provided  stability to Thailand .

The Thai economy is strong along with the Thai baht.

 

    Compare Thai elections , with the so called democratic UK  Brexit shambles.

      Long live the Junta.  

  

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by elliss

[elliss]

2 hours ago, Sunderland said:

So much blatant cheating that the population has given up trying to change the status quo. There will be change one day in the future and it will be bloody.

 

 Dream on ,  if you cant beat them , etc ,