2 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

The Thai constitution was voted in by the people 

That's a joke, right? 🤣

 

It was not allowed to campaign against this constitution. Moreover, there was no alternative choice (ex.   keeping the previous constitution), just Prayut saying that if it doesn't pass, he will draw a constitution himself.

10 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

thanks, thought so !!! but could not find anything about her being elected to a mp status by the electrical process    so can anybody just say they are a mp ????   

She was a Party List MP.  Each party is allocated a number of Partly List MPs based on what percent of the vote they won.  There are parties that did not win a single Constituent Seat, but won enough votes for a Party MP.

On 8/29/2025 at 11:26 PM, BritManToo said:

Not really a kangaroo court as they made the right decision.

........ Unless you want to tell us she wasn't dishonest?

Daddy's little dumpling kiiow was never anything except a proxy for Daddy.  Personally I'm sick of dynasties regardless of what country I'm in.  It was a good decision to remove her.  Then on to new elections and more empty promises of emptying the Thai treasury into the pockets of the electorate if they just choose the "right party" - only to be fooled once again.  I mean really - people are just buffalo which is why the billionaires can bend them over and have their way with them all. 

45 minutes ago, candide said:

That's a joke, right? 🤣

 

It was not allowed to campaign against this constitution. Moreover, there was no alternative choice (ex.   keeping the previous constitution), just Prayut saying that if it doesn't pass, he will draw a constitution himself.

thats not the point it was elected by the people  the people accepted it  and its the people to blame  

Quote 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has revealed that he has a "back-up plan" if the draft constitution is shot down in the Aug 7 referendum while the Democrat Party leader has pressed for details of an alternative if the draft fails.

Gen Prayut said he previously had made it clear he would have a new charter drawn up if the draft prepared by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), led by Meechai Ruchupan, fails in the referendum.

He said several previous charters do not differ much in essence, and he has already set up a working panel to study past charters and use their positive features to create a new charter should the Meechai version be rejected. "If the draft constitution does not pass, a new one has to be written," Gen Prayut said. The general election cannot be held without a constitution, and the poll can proceed only if the country is free of unrest and violence, the prime minister said.

"The public must be free to vote and I cannot force them to accept or reject," Gen Prayut said.
He also said those who were campaigning against the draft charter were not "acting of their own free will" and were giving distorted information.

 

1 minute ago, MikeandDow said:

thats not the point it was elected by the people  the people accepted it  and its the people to blame  

Quote 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has revealed that he has a "back-up plan" if the draft constitution is shot down in the Aug 7 referendum while the Democrat Party leader has pressed for details of an alternative if the draft fails.

Gen Prayut said he previously had made it clear he would have a new charter drawn up if the draft prepared by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), led by Meechai Ruchupan, fails in the referendum.

He said several previous charters do not differ much in essence, and he has already set up a working panel to study past charters and use their positive features to create a new charter should the Meechai version be rejected. "If the draft constitution does not pass, a new one has to be written," Gen Prayut said. The general election cannot be held without a constitution, and the poll can proceed only if the country is free of unrest and violence, the prime minister said.

"The public must be free to vote and I cannot force them to accept or reject," Gen Prayut said.
He also said those who were campaigning against the draft charter were not "acting of their own free will" and were giving distorted information.

 

That's exactly the point. It was not a free and fair referendum, and no alternative choice was given, so it's worthless!

 

"However, in the run-up to the vote, the junta passed a new law forbidding campaigning on the issue and also launched a crackdown on activists and the media."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/03/thailand-referendum-fears-over-fair-vote-as-military-cracks-down-on-dissent

 

"While no evidence of electoral fraud has been uncovered, this was in no sense a free and fair referendum. The military junta banned any campaigning. The ‘Vote No’ camp never had a chance to put their case to the people. Scores of people who defied the ban were arrested, charged and some imprisoned. Because of the ban many voters did not know what was actually in the constitution. Meanwhile the regime made it clear through its control of the mass media and its influence over the bureaucracy that it expected the constitution to be passed."

https://eastasiaforum.org/2016/08/31/the-real-meaning-of-thailands-constitutional-referendum/

1 hour ago, candide said:

That's exactly the point. It was not a free and fair referendum, and no alternative choice was given, so it's worthless!

 

"However, in the run-up to the vote, the junta passed a new law forbidding campaigning on the issue and also launched a crackdown on activists and the media."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/03/thailand-referendum-fears-over-fair-vote-as-military-cracks-down-on-dissent

 

"While no evidence of electoral fraud has been uncovered, this was in no sense a free and fair referendum. The military junta banned any campaigning. The ‘Vote No’ camp never had a chance to put their case to the people. Scores of people who defied the ban were arrested, charged and some imprisoned. Because of the ban many voters did not know what was actually in the constitution. Meanwhile the regime made it clear through its control of the mass media and its influence over the bureaucracy that it expected the constitution to be passed."

https://eastasiaforum.org/2016/08/31/the-real-meaning-of-thailands-constitutional-referendum/

it was still accepted by the people  i agree it was a con job  why did All the people not say no !!  democracy is fought for, the problem is the thai people dont care !! its the attitude of i am alright jack and  bugger the rest,  that is why the  system is a mess  and they got what they voted for,  and i have no sympathy for people as you said  (many voters did not know what was actually in the constitution) they should have found out what they are voting for NOT be like sheep,  and by the way in a referendum the people did have a choice  YES or NO  

4 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

The Thai constitution was voted in by the people

you are completely in cloud cuckoo land -  the 2017 referendum process was conducted under a military junta that banned campaigning and detained opponents, leading many to question the democratic legitimacy of the vote and the resulting constitution. 

1 minute ago, kwilco said:

you are completely in cloud cuckoo land -  the 2017 referendum process was conducted under a military junta that banned campaigning and detained opponents, leading many to question the democratic legitimacy of the vote and the resulting constitution. 

keep the discussion civil !!!!  yes it was conducted under a military junta  let me ask you a question when you go and vote do you take note of the campaigning or do you do your own research   i know i do listen to the campaigning if there is any BUT i do my own research   and the question was do you accept the constitution or not   simple yes or no   it was accepted by the people end of story   you can cry about it all you want but it was by the people   

On 8/29/2025 at 2:10 AM, SmartyMarty said:

Let’s hope there will be free and fair elections as a result 555

They have free and fair elections, the problem is the results don't count if the wrong people are elected.

11 hours ago, kwilco said:

wishful thinking rather than critical analysis

Time will tell......

11 hours ago, kwilco said:

The issue is not the Shinawatras - it's whether or not THailand is a functioning democracy run by the military.

Anutin will seek revenge for being ousted from the government.

He will have nothing to do with the PTP, or the Shinawatras, their day is done.

Exepect Thaksin and Paetongtarn to pack their bags and join Yingluk.

As for the military, why would they  "run" the government?

On 8/30/2025 at 1:37 PM, spidermike007 said:

No I absolutely despise Anutin and the destruction that he's wreaked upon this nation during the decade that the army had control. Thailand still has not recovered from that debacle in my opinion. 

 

Like a lot of other progressive people, I would love to see somebody like Pita, a young dynamic leader, but there are some very toxic forces here that seem to be preventing that from happening, and they seem to have very low regard for the majority of the population here. 

Yes Pita was a glimpse of hope but we both know the military aligned government would never allow the likes as he would have made changes to their antiquated corrupt system and was a voice for the people which will never be acceptable - sadly!!!

I saw the Thaksin government as somewhere in between what the current controlling regime is and the likes of Pita!! Their ousting has opened the door for Anutin so sometimes you reap what you sow!!

8 minutes ago, paul1804 said:

Yes Pita was a glimpse of hope but we both know the military aligned government would never allow the likes as he would have made changes to their antiquated corrupt system and was a voice for the people which will never be acceptable - sadly!!!

I saw the Thaksin government as somewhere in between what the current controlling regime is and the likes of Pita!! Their ousting has opened the door for Anutin so sometimes you reap what you sow!!

Anutin would be such an enormous step in the wrong direction. The man is an absolute disaster  

1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

Anutin would be such an enormous step in the wrong direction. The man is an absolute disaster  

I couldn't agree more!!

On 8/29/2025 at 4:17 PM, Cuchulainn said:

Yes, ......Marty. There will be

ah ah ah! Anutin & Prawit are ready..

This is for the posters who think the People vote for a PM

Parliament and the poll

Thailand’s Parliament consists of 250 appointed senators in the Upper House, and 500 MPs in the Lower House, also known as the House of Representatives.

The Lower House is made up of 400 constituency MPs and 100 party-list MPs.

voters will elect candidates to the Lower House for a four-year term.

Two-ballot system

Each voter will get two ballots:

1. Constituency vote to select the district MP

There are 400 seats representing the 400 districts. The candidate with the most votes for that district wins the seat.

2. Party-list vote to pick the preferred party on a national level

The 100 party-list seats are distributed proportionately, based on the percentage share of votes each party gets in this category.

Forming the government

The official results of the election must be declared within 60 days of May 14.

In the event that no party wins a majority to form a single-party government, parties will need to ally with others to form a coalition government of at least 251 of the 500 Lower House seats.

In the 2019 election, Pheu Thai Party

won the most seats with 136 MPs

but was unable to get enough support from the Lower House to form a majority coalition.

 

The military-linked Palang Pracharath Party, which won 115 seats, then cobbled together another 139 seats from 18 other parties

to form the government.

Parliament chooses the prime minister

Before the polls, each party can nominate up to three PM candidates. These individuals need not be an elected MP.

Only candidates from parties that win at least 25 seats will be considered.

The elected MPs and appointed senators from the Upper House will take a joint parliamentary vote for the PM.

To win, a candidate needs a simple majority of at least 376 votes.

 

On 8/31/2025 at 11:00 PM, hotchilli said:

Time will tell......

no sir - critical thinking is not something that takes time, it is a methodology 

On 9/1/2025 at 4:23 AM, spidermike007 said:

Anutin would be such an enormous step in the wrong direction. The man is an absolute disaster  

why - what is your reasoning or evidence?

2 hours ago, kwilco said:

why - what is your reasoning or evidence?

Health minister during Covid... 

6 hours ago, kwilco said:

why - what is your reasoning or evidence?

Number one he represents the old guard and the elite, and other than the legalization of cannabis he is anti-progress.

 

Number two he showed us how ineffective he was by presiding as a major figure within the Prayuth Administration (the Prayuth decimation), and that administration was so toxic it set the nation back a decade or two, and the economic effects of their policy is still being felt today. 

 

And number three he doesn't have an original idea in his entire body, he does not represent the people, he is not interested in reform or change, he is overly wealthy, and he is absolutely the wrong man for the job. 

On 8/30/2025 at 7:59 AM, Celsius said:

 

He finished most of Taksin projects. I don't know about Thais, but for us foreigners it was the best years in Thailand. 

He was Prime Minister of the Thai people not farangland.  I repeat that in his entire decade he did nothing to improve public education.  He simply continued the corrupt past and helped the Thai elite will ignoring the working class.