Ban On Political Party Activities Lifted

[sriracha john]

Thailand allows resumption of political activities

BANGKOK - Thailand's cabinet agreed on Tuesday to let political parties resume activities, a government spokesman said days after ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's was disbanded.

But the formation of new parties was still banned as it would take time for a new law to be written on forming new parties, government spokesman Nattawat Suthiyothin told reporters.

That means Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) cannot reform under a new name, which it is expected to do before general elections the government has promised for December, until that law is passed.

The Constitutional Tribunal ordered the dissolution of Thai Rak Thai for election fraud last week and banned 111 of its leaders, including Thaksin, from politics for five years.

But it absolved the Democrat Party, Thailand's oldest and the main opposition to Thaksin until he was ousted last September, of any wrongdoing in elections early last year.

The verdict upset Thaksin supporters who demonstrated against the generals who overthrew Thaksin and the government they appointed.

- Reuters

[sriracha john]

BBC Breaking News

Thai political party ban lifted

A ban on political party activities in Thailand has been lifted by the interim government.

The ban was imposed last September after the coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

A spokesman said the ban was being lifted to allow parties to campaign for a general election, which has been tentatively scheduled for December.

The move comes days after a court ordered the dissolution of Mr Thaksin's former ruling party, Thai Rak Thai.

- BBC

[sriracha john]

An earlier report before the decision....

Ban on political activity 'to go'

The Council for National Security (CNS) yesterday agreed to lift a ban on political activities and the registration of new parties and will propose the matter to the Cabinet for discussion at its meeting today.

Speaking after a three-hour-meeting of the CNS, spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said junta chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin would propose legal procedures to lift the ban to the Cabinet.

The junta's Announcements No 15 and 27, issued shortly after the military coup in September last year, bar politicians from conducting any political activities and from setting up new political parties.

"We agreed to allow political parties to resume their activities in order to give them a chance to present themselves as political choices to the people ahead of the general election," Samsern said.

The junta will not intervene in any political activities and will allow parties to have full political freedom, he added.

"We believe the people have sound political judgement. It's up to the parties to offer them attractive and useful policies," he said.

Members of the Thai Rak Thai party might not benefit from the lifting of the ban as they won't be able to conduct political activities in the party's name following its dissolution by the Constitution Tribunal last week.

Samsern said Sonthi would propose two legal alternatives for lifting the political ban: the Cabinet could either propose a bill to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), which would take time, or issue a resolution to lift the ban immediately.

The decision will be left to the government and the National Legislative Assembly, Sansern said.

- The Nation

[sriracha john]

and the updated breaking news article....

Cabinet lifts ban on party activities

The Cabinet Tuesday lifts ban on political parties' activities, Government Spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp said.

He said the Cabinet agreed to annual the first article of the Announcement No 15, after which political parties would be able to resume activities.

- The Nation

[cclub75]

That means Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) cannot reform under a new name, which it is expected to do before general elections the government has promised for December, until that law is passed.

And we should say that the NLA (National legistlative assembly) has a pretty impressive record... regarding speed !

Actually, the NLA is like a black box. The Cabinet send them every week some projects... And then... no news.

It's the case for the Retail Act, the Foreign Business Act etc. And other important texts.

Actually, could someone tell us if ANY news law has been published into the Royal Gazette ?

[hammered]

Well this is a start and is good news.

[cclub75]

Well this is a start and is good news.

Sure. Let's sum'up :

-we have a project of Constitution

-we have a project of referendum over this project of constitution

-we have a project of elections following the project of referendum over the project of a constitution

-plus... we have today only one party (Democrats)

-and a project to have other when a law will be passed by the NLA

-plus of course the freedoom to have political activities, even for parties that have been disbanded and/or for parties that do not exist... yet.

Yes we can definitely say that it's a good start.

[ando]

The ban on political activity by a military dictatorship was a draconian offence against democracy in the first place.

And the timing of its lifting is laughable in view of recent events.

Looks like the juntas plan to pervert the course of democracy is right on track.

[Jai Dee]

Thai govt prepares for December election

Thailand's interim government has lifted a ban on political party activities imposed last September when the military ousted the elected administration.

Government Spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarb said the action, which will allow parties to prepare for a general election tentatively scheduled for December, was approved at Tuesday's weekly Cabinet meeting.

The lifting of the ban, effective immediately, came six days after a court ordered the dissolution of the Thai Rak Thai Party of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald - 05 June 2007

[hammered]

Well this is a start and is good news.

Sure. Let's sum'up :

-we have a project of Constitution

-we have a project of referendum over this project of constitution

-we have a project of elections following the project of referendum over the project of a constitution

-plus... we have today only one party (Democrats)

-and a project to have other when a law will be passed by the NLA

-plus of course the freedoom to have political activities, even for parties that have been disbanded and/or for parties that do not exist... yet.

Yes we can definitely say that it's a good start.

If you follow Thai politics you will realise there is not only one party. There also has to be a way out of the mess the country is in, which of course some posters beloved can do no wrong Thai Rak Thai party played a major part in causing. This gradual reintroduction of political process may not be what you like but it may also be the only non-violent way forward to a return to the partial form of democracy that existed in Thailand before the coup. If as things exist at the moment there is a better non-violent way forward I have yet to hear of it. Of course it easy to come up with sarcastic comments without adding anything positive.

[ando]

If you follow Thai politics you will realise there is not only one party. There also has to be a way out of the mess the country is in, which of course some posters beloved can do no wrong Thai Rak Thai party played a major part in causing. This gradual reintroduction of political process may not be what you like but it may also be the only non-violent way forward to a return to the partial form of democracy that existed in Thailand before the coup. If as things exist at the moment there is a better non-violent way forward I have yet to hear of it. Of course it easy to come up with sarcastic comments without adding anything positive.

I am afraid the generals wouldnt agree that a non-violent way forward is the best way. Taking over government with armed men, imposing martial law on the majority of the voting population in the provinces, eliminating the most popular political party and political leader. What kind of a democracy does that leave the people with? Yea, sure its probably the best way out for the people to lay down and accept the corruption of democracy by the military dictators. To do otherwise would no doubt only result in a more forceful imposition of military force over the democratic process which of course would result in the deaths of civilians facing armed soldiers.

No one wants to see soldiers mowing down innocent unarmed civilians, but I dont think anyone (and especially the Thai people) believe they wouldnt do it if the people oppose the military objective en masse. I wouldnt encourage any poor Thais to become dead martyrs against the military dictatorship. But as a farang here outside the line of fire, it disheartens me to see farangs supporting such grossly unethical political manipulation by the military that will set back democracy and the standard of living for the poor by decades. The Thais dont have much of a choice. Its back down or face soldiers with guns. I cant believe the number of farangs who support the military juntas strategy to pervert democracy to disadvantage the majority of people in Thailand.

[Gnarpjohan]

No one wants to see soldiers mowing down innocent unarmed civilians, but I dont think anyone (and especially the Thai people) believe they wouldnt do it if the people oppose the military objective en masse. I wouldnt encourage any poor Thais to become dead martyrs against the military dictatorship. But as a farang here outside the line of fire, it disheartens me to see farangs supporting such grossly unethical political manipulation by the military that will set back democracy and the standard of living for the poor by decades. The Thais dont have much of a choice. Its back down or face soldiers with guns. I cant believe the number of farangs who support the military juntas strategy to pervert democracy to disadvantage the majority of people in Thailand.

Very well spoken!

I am guessing that many thailand-farangs are strongly influenced by the well-situated folks in and around Bangkok that are short-term losers on any redistribution of wealth to the poor.

Edited June 5, 2007 by Gnarpjohan

[John K]

So far the junta has done what they said. The only thing left is the censorship. I can see it being lifted with limits to keep the TRT / PTV / Thaksin noise down.

[Ricardo]

Well this is a start and is good news.

Sure. Let's sum'up :

-we have a project of Constitution

-we have a project of referendum over this project of constitution

-we have a project of elections following the project of referendum over the project of a constitution

-plus... we have today only one party (Democrats)

Sorry to disagree, but Thailand has many political parties, including those minor ones which TRT bribed to take part in the last election, in their failed attempt to make it seem like a real vote.

-and a project to have other when a law will be passed by the NLA

-plus of course the freedoom to have political activities, even for parties that have been disbanded and/or for parties that do not exist... yet.

Yes we can definitely say that it's a good start.

The ban on political activity by a military dictatorship was a draconian offence against democracy in the first place.

This was surely an understandable short-term ban, to keep a lid on things following the coup, and minimise the risk of blood-shed on the streets ?

And the timing of its lifting is laughable in view of recent events.

Looks like the juntas plan to pervert the course of democracy is right on track.

So one more step, towards resuming normal democracy here, is greeted as though it were a backwards-step, rather than the temporary-government fulfilling its promises to try to move back to full democracy on a reasonable time-scale ?

IMHO some posters are in denial here.

This can only be viewed as a step in the right direction. Sooner would have been better. But now is better than never, don't you think ?

And this surely cannot be presented as the action of a military dedicated to keeping hold of power long-term. Why would they bother to let the parties resume activity if that were indeed their aim ?

[TAWP]

Every journey must begin with one step.

[ando]

[

IMHO some posters are in denial here.

This can only be viewed as a step in the right direction. Sooner would have been better. But now is better than never, don't you think ?

And this surely cannot be presented as the action of a military dedicated to keeping hold of power long-term. Why would they bother to let the parties resume activity if that were indeed their aim ?

I think you may be a little naive, if your comment is sincere.

The military dictatorship allows the resumption of political activity only days after the most popular party has been registered and elections are only a few months away. Sort of like giving a 50 yard penalty in a 100 yard sprint and then calling the outcome a fair race. The trouble is that even though the result is likely to stand, the majority of Thais will know they have been duped and it wont sit well for future stability in the country. Anyway, the generals with the guns will be waiting in the wings to take over power again if there should be trouble. A pretty sad version of democracy.

[TAWP]

So they should delay elections until next year, for democracy?

[John K]

I have to agree with you Ricardo that there are some in denial. So far the Junta has done exactly what they said they would do. They wanted to be sure the TRT and Thaksin were out of the game before lifting the ban. Any delays so far in doing what they said they would do can be fairly easily traced back to Thaksin and company. The only item left as I said is the censorship. I would think it reasonable to say it would remain in place to such a degree to squelch the self serving groups and allow the country to heal.

[sriracha john]

Cabinet to lift ban on political activities

But order stripping electoral rights stays

The cabinet agreed yesterday to lift a ban on political activities imposed by the coup-makers in a decision which would allow political groups including the dissolved Thai Rak Thai party to start making moves in preparation for the next general election. But the cabinet decided to keep intact another coup makers' order which provided a legal basis for the political ban on former Thai Rak Thai executives. PM Surayud said that as soon as a new law to revoke the Announcement No. 15 is enacted, political parties will be able to resume activities. Surayud said yesterday the Council of State, the government's legal arm, is expected to finish a draft law to lift Announcement No. 15 by next week. It will then go to the cabinet before being forwarded to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) for consideration. He called for its quick passage through the NLA in three straight readings. The cabinet, however, decided to keep intact Announcement No. 27, which strips executives of political parties dissolved for electoral fraud of the rights to contest elections and to vote in elections for five consecutive years.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/06Jun2007_news01.php

[sriracha john]

Thailand lifts political activity ban

Bangkok: Thailand's interim government yesterday lifted a ban on political party activities that had been imposed last September when the military staged a coup d'etat to oust the Thaksin government.

Government Spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarb said the action, which will allow parties to prepare for a general election tentatively scheduled for December, was approved at yesterday's weekly Cabinet meeting. Parties had been unable to hold public meetings and do organising.

"This is a good sign for Thai democracy," said Sathit Wongnongthoey, an executive member of the Democrat Party, the country's oldest. "It should make the situation less murky as parties can hold meetings and meet with the electorate ahead of the general election."

All political parties had been lobbying strongly for several months for the lifting of the ban on their activities, arguing that it was necessary to help the restoration of democracy.

The lifting of the ban, effective immediately, came six days after a court ordered the dissolution of the Thai Rak Thai Party of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Constitutional Tribunal also barred more than 100 of Thai Rak Thai's top leaders from public office for five years for electoral law violations in connection with a general election held in April last year. The Democrat Party, the country's second-biggest, also faced charges but was exonerated.

Pongthep Thepkanjana, a former executive of the now defunct TRT party, said yesterday's lifting of the political activities ban was a good decision and that it should have happened a long time ago.

For now, Thai Rak Thai's former members are still unable to carry out any organised political activities. They can form a new party under a different name, but only after the National Legislative Assembly acts to reverse a coup order that bans setting up new parties, said Yongyuth.

He said the Council of State - the government's legal advisory body - will review the language of a proposal for reopening party registration before giving it back to the Cabinet next week. Afterward, it will be forwarded to the assembly.

Pongthep noted he and his former colleagues were at a disadvantage, and said he was uncertain when the situation might change.

- Associated Press

[sriracha john]

Thai govt prepares for December election

Thailand's interim government has lifted a ban on political party activities imposed last September when the military ousted the elected administration.

Government Spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarb said the action, which will allow parties to prepare for a general election tentatively scheduled for December, was approved at Tuesday's weekly Cabinet meeting.

The lifting of the ban, effective immediately, came six days after a court ordered the dissolution of the Thai Rak Thai Party of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

- Sydney Morning Herald

[johna]

TRT can and will re register for the next election with family members or nominees standing in for those banned and as you can see from the extract from this mornings Nation, banned MP will campaign for these puppets

I believe the TRT in this scenario will win the next election

extract from the NATION

Even though all 111 former members of the Thai Rak Thai Party's executive committee - including deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra - have been barred from participating in the planned nationwide election as candidates, these individuals will continue to enjoy their rights as citizens to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and the ability to engage in political activities in support of any political party.

[Ricardo]

[

IMHO some posters are in denial here.

This can only be viewed as a step in the right direction. Sooner would have been better. But now is better than never, don't you think ?

And this surely cannot be presented as the action of a military dedicated to keeping hold of power long-term. Why would they bother to let the parties resume activity if that were indeed their aim ?

I think you may be a little naive, if your comment is sincere.

I may be naive - but I am sincere.

The military dictatorship allows the resumption of political activity only days after the most popular party has been registered

I think you meant de-registered, not registered, no ? And if TRT were still as popular as you think, why was there so little response, to the coup ? Perhaps the voters saw that Thaksin had led his party & the country into a mess - in a vain attempt to save his own skin. The protests were against Thaksin, don't forget, not against TRT.

and elections are only a few months away.

Which is surely to be welcomed ?

Sort of like giving a 50 yard penalty in a 100 yard sprint and then calling the outcome a fair race.

Or calling a snap-election, with too little notice to permit MPs to change parties, and show their true alleigance, as did DL. Then bribing minor parties to stand - to give the election some appearance of fairness, which it did not have.

The trouble is that even though the result is likely to stand, the majority of Thais will know they have been duped and it wont sit well for future stability in the country.

I agree with you that the military coup has reduced stability, but feel it was better than letting Thaksin take over completely, and becoming a dictator, with only rigged-elections permitted in future. The lesser of two evils.

Anyway, the generals with the guns will be waiting in the wings to take over power again if there should be trouble.

Again I agree with this, it seems to be the way Thailand works, in a less-than-perfect world.

A pretty sad version of democracy. But better than none at all.

In case you wondered, I also agree that TRT (or some of its constituent parts) did help the rural poor, in its early days, and I deplore the lack of alternative parties trying to do the same thing now. Any politician who sees holding power, as more than just a route to self-profit or self-agrandisement, ought to be out there trying to present an alternative to old-style-politics.

But its key leader turned out to be clever but corrupt. Sad but true.

Now it is time to move on.

[Jai Dee]

The Cabinet gives green light for political parties to resume activities

The Cabinet has reached a conclusion to allow political parties to implement theirs political activities.

The Spokesperson to the Prime Minister's Office, Capt MD Yongyuth Maiyalap (ยงยุทธ มัยลาภ), has announced that the Cabinet has reached a resolution to allow political parties to resume its activities again.

However, the Thai Rak Thai Party and its executives members are prohibited to run in the general elections for the next 5 years. The 27th announcement of the Council for National Security (CNS) has previously banned all political parties to hold activities related to politics. However the Cabinet yesterday morning has relaxed its arm and have allowed all political parties to resume their activities.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 06 June 2007

[farang prince]

It would appear to me that what the Cabinet did was paint TRT into a corner, from which there is little or no escape. Since TRT was dissolved, there is no party. And with elections scheduled for December, they have to wait for the NLA to approve rules for creating a new party...which will probably be slow-rolled and prevent them for actually fielding a slate of candidates in the next election. This looks more like back-room maneuvering by the junta to keep TRT from creating a new party than it does a return to "democracy." Am I missing something or is this what really just happened?

[hammered]

It would appear to me that what the Cabinet did was paint TRT into a corner, from which there is little or no escape. Since TRT was dissolved, there is no party. And with elections scheduled for December, they have to wait for the NLA to approve rules for creating a new party...which will probably be slow-rolled and prevent them for actually fielding a slate of candidates in the next election. This looks more like back-room maneuvering by the junta to keep TRT from creating a new party than it does a return to "democracy." Am I missing something or is this what really just happened?

There certainly is no TRT party any more. Even when they set up a successor party they will have no members, no money, no assets etc and will have to go through the legal process to achieve all of this. This takes time and they may find they have even less ex-MPs with them by then as MPs especially less influential ones start to panic about not having a seat in parliament, and get attracted to other parties. There are also at least 2 other groups of ex-TRT MPs (controlling about 1/3 of ex TRT MPs) who say they will not go back in a similar position of having to set up parties although it may be easier for them being mono-factional rather than the multi-factional mish mash that the TRT rump now is.

As to whether this was deserved or not I cant be bothered to argue. Even those disqualified seem divided on whether to accept their lot of fight it). The fact is we are where we are and the country needs to move forward. The relaxation of politcal restrictions and the move to an election has to be welcomed. It is a first step back towards the parrtial democracy that Thailand had before and this time hopefully with less abuse.

[Plus]

They allowed resuming political activities pretty fast. I don't know why people protest here. Do they want the ban to stay on or what?

[hammered]

They allowed resuming political activities pretty fast. I don't know why people protest here. Do they want the ban to stay on or what?

And from where we now stand what realistic alternative are the critics proposing. I certainly havent heard of any realistic ones yet. I am sure the PTV Thaksinista boot boys are going on some pipe (filled with mind warping drugs) dream of hey man lets all bring back the 1997 consty and reinstate the previous caretaker government and if we dont get our way we will threaten all kinds of hideous things (that probably wont come to pass) and hey man we aint nothing to do with TRT but now all our ex-TRT buddies have joined us. Then again they could try offering Jatukham amulets to attract a few more like the now utterly discredited as a politcal group when saturday comes boys did, or they could try some white dove tactics moaning that a Muslim has more than one wife. Anyway what are they realistically proposing? The only option they seem to be offering is violence which I am sure nobody wants to see especially as we have avoided it since they were in power when unfortuantely they managed to put to death more people than Pinochet.

[sriracha john]

It would appear to me that what the Cabinet did was paint TRT into a corner, from which there is little or no escape. Since TRT was dissolved, there is no party. And with elections scheduled for December, they have to wait for the NLA to approve rules for creating a new party...which will probably be slow-rolled and prevent them for actually fielding a slate of candidates in the next election. This looks more like back-room maneuvering by the junta to keep TRT from creating a new party than it does a return to "democracy." Am I missing something or is this what really just happened?

There certainly is no TRT party any more. Even when they set up a successor party they will have no members, no money, no assets etc and will have to go through the legal process to achieve all of this. This takes time and they may find they have even less ex-MPs with them by then as MPs especially less influential ones start to panic about not having a seat in parliament, and get attracted to other parties. There are also at least 2 other groups of ex-TRT MPs (controlling about 1/3 of ex TRT MPs) who say they will not go back in a similar position of having to set up parties although it may be easier for them being mono-factional rather than the multi-factional mish mash that the TRT rump now is.

As to whether this was deserved or not I cant be bothered to argue. Even those disqualified seem divided on whether to accept their lot of fight it). The fact is we are where we are and the country needs to move forward. The relaxation of politcal restrictions and the move to an election has to be welcomed. It is a first step back towards the parrtial democracy that Thailand had before and this time hopefully with less abuse.

Additionally, The EC has stated previously that it typically takes 6 months or more to register a new party as so many aspects are looked into. As Thailand has over 40 political parties registered now, it would easy enough to verify that the processing time is accurate. It certainly doesn't sound TRT is being singled out and that's just the length of time it normally takes.

From the TRT Faces Dissolution thread

Here's a little food for thought I imagine a lot of people hadn't considered....

Thai Rak Thai, Democrat may not be revived in time for next poll if disbanded

Election commissioner Sodsri Satayatham Tuesday reminded parties concerned that they might need about six months to register a new party if faced with a court order to disband an old party due to electoral fraud.

"The party registration is a lengthy process because of required accounting audit for the dissolved party," she said, hinting that the new party might not be ready to contest the next general election if party founders chose not to take over existing parties.

Thai Rak Thai Party acting leader Chaturon Chaisang earlier said he had a contingency plan to form a new party if his former ruling party faced a guilty verdict for fraud.

Sodsri said any parties disbanded by the court order were obliged to undergo the audit on financial record before being allowed to register a new party under a new name.

- The Nation

[farang prince]

It would appear to me that what the Cabinet did was paint TRT into a corner, from which there is little or no escape. Since TRT was dissolved, there is no party. And with elections scheduled for December, they have to wait for the NLA to approve rules for creating a new party...which will probably be slow-rolled and prevent them for actually fielding a slate of candidates in the next election. This looks more like back-room maneuvering by the junta to keep TRT from creating a new party than it does a return to "democracy." Am I missing something or is this what really just happened?

There certainly is no TRT party any more. Even when they set up a successor party they will have no members, no money, no assets etc and will have to go through the legal process to achieve all of this. This takes time and they may find they have even less ex-MPs with them by then as MPs especially less influential ones start to panic about not having a seat in parliament, and get attracted to other parties. There are also at least 2 other groups of ex-TRT MPs (controlling about 1/3 of ex TRT MPs) who say they will not go back in a similar position of having to set up parties although it may be easier for them being mono-factional rather than the multi-factional mish mash that the TRT rump now is.

As to whether this was deserved or not I cant be bothered to argue. Even those disqualified seem divided on whether to accept their lot of fight it). The fact is we are where we are and the country needs to move forward. The relaxation of politcal restrictions and the move to an election has to be welcomed. It is a first step back towards the parrtial democracy that Thailand had before and this time hopefully with less abuse.

Additionally, The EC has stated previously that it typically takes 6 months or more to register a new party as so many aspects are looked into. As Thailand has over 40 political parties registered now, it would easy enough to verify that the processing time is accurate. It certainly doesn't sound TRT is being singled out and that's just the length of time it normally takes.

From the TRT Faces Dissolution thread

Here's a little food for thought I imagine a lot of people hadn't considered....

Thai Rak Thai, Democrat may not be revived in time for next poll if disbanded

Election commissioner Sodsri Satayatham Tuesday reminded parties concerned that they might need about six months to register a new party if faced with a court order to disband an old party due to electoral fraud.

"The party registration is a lengthy process because of required accounting audit for the dissolved party," she said, hinting that the new party might not be ready to contest the next general election if party founders chose not to take over existing parties.

Thai Rak Thai Party acting leader Chaturon Chaisang earlier said he had a contingency plan to form a new party if his former ruling party faced a guilty verdict for fraud.

Sodsri said any parties disbanded by the court order were obliged to undergo the audit on financial record before being allowed to register a new party under a new name.

- The Nation

Well, John, you certainly saw the handwriting on the wall. I find the Cabinet's actions on Tuesday to be pretty disingenous....The headlines will read "Ban On Political Parties Is Lifted" when in realilty they have slipped a sharp dagger into the gut of TRT members. I'm very neutral about the political situation in Thailand...it is their country and I'm just along for the ride...but you have to admit, this was pretty good political theater on Tuesday.

Edited June 6, 2007 by farang prince