Pheu Thai to investigate ‘cobras’ for voting with govt

[rooster59]

Pheu Thai to investigate ‘cobras’ for voting with govt

By THE NATION

 

 

Pheu Thai Party declared yesterday (December 6) that it will appoint a committee to investigate its House of Representatives, who voted on Wednesday (December 4) to support the government's voting down of a commission setting up to study the impacts of National Council for Peace and Order’s actions and its use of power under section 44 of the Constitution.

 

 

Those ‘cobras’ a term used for politicians who defy their party's orders, are Khachit Chainikom, Pornpimon Tummasarn, and Phonphum Wiphatphumiprathet and represent Udon Thani, Pathum Thani, and Bangkok respectively.

 

The committee will start with an investigation into their actions before calling on the three to provide further information then present conclusions for consideration by party leader Sompong Amornvivat.

 

The whole investigation will take around 7 to 10 days. “If the three members are found guilty, they will be dismissed and prohibited from registering in the next election” said the party’s leader. “If they were found to have taken bribes, the party will forward their case for legal action.”

 

Khachit said that his vote was accidental. “I did not want to votedown the government’s motion or go against the party’s opinion” added he. “My voting ticket was stuck to the voting point. Staffs collected it and counted it as a supporting voice,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, Justice Minister, Somsak Thapsutin said that those who supported the government’s motion should not be called cobras, adding they may have chosen to vote that way because it was advantageous to the government.”

 

 

In addition to the three members of Pheu Thai Party, seven other opposition representatives voted in favour of the government, namely including two members of Future Forward Party (FWP), four of New Economics Party, and one fromf Prachachart Party.

 

Secretary-general of the FWP Piyabutr Saengkanokkul said that the cobras in his party should resign because FWP will not allow them to register in a next election. Moreover, the party’s executive committee will hold a meeting to consider this matter.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30379173

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-12-07

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[keith101]

So unlike a true democracy where an MP can vote their way here its the parties way or the highway .

[Just1Voice]

Check their bank accounts. 

[robblok]

15 minutes ago, keith101 said:

So unlike a true democracy where an MP can vote their way here its the parties way or the highway .

Yes seems a bit stupid, I mean i bet there would be a lot of outrage if it went the other way.

 

I get that if you belong to a party you need to vote like the party but on the other hand there should be some freedom too.

 

I do know that in my country they often can vote how they want though going against the party its views a lot would ultimately lead to expulsion and i think rightly so. But doing it occasionally should not be a problem IMHO.

[FritsSikkink]

34 minutes ago, Chang_paarp said:

 

 

It might have got past your radar, but in the Australian parliaments voting is lock step behind party lines, those who "cross the floor" or vote against their party wishes are severely punished by their political overlords, dis-endorsement and expulsion from the party are common punishments for these crimes.

Party voting is determined in the party rooms prior to a vote on the floor of the parliament. It is the role of the parliamentary whips to ensure that every elected member is in attendance for a vote and understands how to vote on every division. The exception is when the parliamentary leader declares a certain vote is a "contience vote", usually on issues that have moral or religious overtones. This system holds for all levels of government in Australia, they took it from the British system. Funnily the US seems to be one place where every vote needs to get every congress member on board as they will vote to their own interests, be that their constituency or as they are influenced by lobbyists.

"influenced by lobbyists." make that paid by lobbyist, which is corruption.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Khachit said that his vote was accidental. “I did not want to votedown the government’s motion or go against the party’s opinion” added he

Should have stayed home!

[CWMcMurray]

Just seems odd to me that anyone could be thrown out of a political party for not voting lock step with their party. 
 

if so, what is the point of electing each person... should just vote in 1 person from each party and give them a number of votes... 

 

each member should be free to vote how ever they want and if party leaders don’t like it... too bad... 

 

in the next election the most any party leader should then be able to do is not endorse the person or endorse a different person for the position, but at the end of the day the voters choose to re-elect the candidate for their position, then is just too bad for the party leaders

 

Also believe no party leader should be able to kick out any one from a political party... if a candidate chooses to declare themselves as a certain party then that is that... if the voters don’t think they really are a member of that party, then the voters will not vote for them. 

 

As I believe Political Parties belong to the voters who vote for them, not to any Politician that can worm their way to the spot as the leader of the Party at any given time.

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, keith101 said:

So unlike a true democracy where an MP can vote their way here its the parties way or the highway .

 

Of course. They are effectively employed by the party and must do as the party owner instructs.

[metisdead]

An off topic baiting post has been removed as well as the off topic replies. 

[seajae]

so while claiming they are democratic the ptp are upset that some of their members did a democratic thing and voted against the ptp, doesnt matter why they did it, in a democratic society members are supposed to vote the way their constituents want not the way their party demands as that is definitely undemocratic, shows how full of it ptp really are and that their claims are one huge farce. We all know thai politicians are more concerned with how much they can make and that democracy has nothing to do with anything they do apart from will claims to garner support, here the ptp was trying to embarrass the govt and it has failed, had nothing to do with helping the people

[Scott Tracy]

A representative democracy in action.

In the UK, most MPs are normally members of a party but can vote against party instructions with varying degrees of punishment to be expected.

There are free votes, where MPs may vote with their conscience right up to 3 line whips, where, if you go against the whip, you can have it removed. Basically, you're fired. If that's what happens here, I understand it. 

If you vote contrary to party instructions you must expect the consequences. Even if you vote with your conscience. It's what being a party member is all about. If you can't do what the party tells you, don't join it.