Exit Poll Results Show PPP Wins

[Gravelrash]

Samak and the PPP are far from inspirational, yet I still can't see why so many on this forum delight in what appears to be going on. Namely a party despite obstacles wins the largest vote. Next the military appointed EC starts to disqualify some members without them even being able to respond to the charges. Now we see that another 60 from the PPP are flagged for "investigation" with 20 from other parties tossed in to seem equitable.

Add to that the losing party seeking the courts to nulify PPP entirely claiming they were a nominee party of the military overthrown former PM. Seems this could have been better done prior the election, oops forgot, they weren't supposed to win. So if this plays out then we have half the countrys electorate disenfranchised. But there again as some of the elite members here have pointed out they are only ignorant Issan farmers any way.

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

PPP continues plan to form coalition govt

Suebwonglee expressed confidence that the PPP will lead the formation of a new coalition government although the Election Commission (EC) suspended endorsement of its 65 members.

The EC endorsed only 168 of 233 winning candidates from PPP on Thursday while it endorsed 159 of 165 winning candidates from its rival Democrat party.

Full story: http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=124859

Edited January 4, 2008 by ChiangMaiAmerican

[Jingthing]

still can't see why so many on this forum delight in what appears to be going on.

My view is that I didn't like the idea of a coup but I approved of their goal to neutralize Thaksin. They failed to neutralize Thaksin, so the whole coup was a failure. I continue to think neutralizing Thaksin, prosecuting him, and keeping him out of power for life is a good idea for Thailand.

Edited January 4, 2008 by Jingthing

[jbowman1993]

Samak and the PPP are far from inspirational, yet I still can't see why so many on this forum delight in what appears to be going on. Namely a party despite obstacles wins the largest vote. Next the military appointed EC starts to disqualify some members without them even being able to respond to the charges. Now we see that another 60 from the PPP are flagged for "investigation" with 20 from other parties tossed in to seem equitable.

Add to that the losing party seeking the courts to nulify PPP entirely claiming they were a nominee party of the military overthrown former PM. Seems this could have been better done prior the election, oops forgot, they weren't supposed to win. So if this plays out then we have half the countrys electorate disenfranchised. But there again as some of the elite members here have pointed out they are only ignorant Issan farmers any way.

I must correct an error that gets repeated over and over on this topic. The military did not pick the EC commissioners. The EC commissioners were appointed prior to the coup, by the judiciary and the senate, under then PM Thaksin. Stop rewriting history please.

[Meerkat]

Samak and the PPP are far from inspirational, yet I still can't see why so many on this forum delight in what appears to be going on. Namely a party despite obstacles wins the largest vote. Next the military appointed EC starts to disqualify some members without them even being able to respond to the charges. Now we see that another 60 from the PPP are flagged for "investigation" with 20 from other parties tossed in to seem equitable.

Add to that the losing party seeking the courts to nulify PPP entirely claiming they were a nominee party of the military overthrown former PM. Seems this could have been better done prior the election, oops forgot, they weren't supposed to win. So if this plays out then we have half the countrys electorate disenfranchised. But there again as some of the elite members here have pointed out they are only ignorant Issan farmers any way.

Agreed. Assuming that the PPP is dissolved, things could really start to get ugly. You'd have to expect, for instance, that some form of martial law would have to be extended in the ex-TRT heartlands - I seriously doubt the "great unwashed" would take it all lying down. How's that for "national reconciliation"?

After refusing to participate in one election which they knew they'd lose, then attempting to disenfranchise a large section of the population in another (for that it exactly what is going on - even if there were a new election without the PPP, any party stepping up to take that part of the vote could be seen to be a proxy for Thaksin and thus subject to dissolution), does anybody else see the delicious irony of Abhisit's party calling themselves the "Democrats"?

[steffi]

The way I see if the PPP deserves it since they were pratically gloating about their TRT connections after they won the election. They acted as though they were untouchable and that if the people wanted a proxy for TRT then let it be.

Samak and the PPP are far from inspirational, yet I still can't see why so many on this forum delight in what appears to be going on. Namely a party despite obstacles wins the largest vote. Next the military appointed EC starts to disqualify some members without them even being able to respond to the charges. Now we see that another 60 from the PPP are flagged for "investigation" with 20 from other parties tossed in to seem equitable.

Add to that the losing party seeking the courts to nulify PPP entirely claiming they were a nominee party of the military overthrown former PM. Seems this could have been better done prior the election, oops forgot, they weren't supposed to win. So if this plays out then we have half the countrys electorate disenfranchised. But there again as some of the elite members here have pointed out they are only ignorant Issan farmers any way.

Agreed. Assuming that the PPP is dissolved, things could really start to get ugly. You'd have to expect, for instance, that some form of martial law would have to be extended in the ex-TRT heartlands - I seriously doubt the "great unwashed" would take it all lying down. How's that for "national reconciliation"?

After refusing to participate in one election which they knew they'd lose, then attempting to disenfranchise a large section of the population in another (for that it exactly what is going on - even if there were a new election without the PPP, any party stepping up to take that part of the vote could be seen to be a proxy for Thaksin and thus subject to dissolution), does anybody else see the delicious irony of Abhisit's party calling themselves the "Democrats"?

[Meerkat]

The way I see if the PPP deserves it since they were pratically gloating about their TRT connections after they won the election. They acted as though they were untouchable and that if the people wanted a proxy for TRT then let it be.

Fair enough, but if the people really do want a proxy for the TRT (and despite my being somewhat nervous at the prospect of Samak as PM, from what I've read of him), my democratic ideals can only lead me to one conclusion.

Let them have one.

[hammered]

Hmmmm. Lots going on since I last took notice.

Interesting the court accepting from different individuals a number of cases for consideration of review including PPP being nominee and the election being invalid (a sense of deja vue?)

It is obvious the PPP is a nominee party of Thaksin and it would be hard to find anyone who would disagree with this. Some may scream oh but you have to prove it. Well that is probably easy enough too. However, having said that it doesnt mean disolution will happen. Thai courts have made decisions taking into account politcal realities before, notably the 2001 assets concealment case and the 111 ban. With appeals for unity will a court really disolve the PPP and start the whole process again? Also is there any heart for a new election? Surely Thailand has had enough of those for a while even if the thought of them does give the analysts a hard on. In some ways these issues going to the court is good as it allows for clarification once and for all, and it may not be the disolution expected.

In the meantime there is the issue of red cards and government formation. It may just happen that accepting a bunch of red cards is a better option than seeing the whole party and all invested in it going down the toilet.

The doomsday options seem to be disolving the PPP and intensifying and elongating the divisions, or allowing a Samak led government to seek revenge on all it deems wronged it and seeing some kind of clash from this. Once again I find myself thinking the only real way out of this (and as no party even before red card attacks enjoyed an outright win it remains a true democratic solution) is a PPP-Dem coalition. Even if the PPP are reduced by 60 odd MPs imho then the Dems should be inviting them to a coalition leaving the fiefdom parties of no ideology to sit in opposition and consider their own historical demise,

It is easy to talk government and strong opposition and yes this is the ideal format in a functioning healthy democracy. Sadly Thailand is not there yet and risks some more real setbacks maybe even worse than we have seen to date unless somebody takes the bull by the horns and agrees to compromise. The current fighting talk coming from both sides right now does not auger well. Lets hope it is just politcal manouvre. To my mind disolving the PPP is no way out and equally having an unfettered PPP seeking politcal revenge on a system or the is also no way out.

Now surely is a time for some of the elder statesmen of the big parties to step up to the plate and calm things down, and it is good that to date the two big parties have not engaged in open combat with no more than a few individual members asking for EC and court intervention in the electoral process from both parties.

[Plus]

If PPP is found to have broken the law it should be punished. The country cannot be held hostage to "great unwashed" threats. Ideally it should not have come to this, and the judges will be very careful in administering the sentence.

They surrendered the law to these threats once, in 2001, and the result was disastrous.

Thaksin is banned, and for a good reason. People will get burned as long as they refuse to accept the just punishement.

[ando]

I have to wonder how the PPP can be a nominee for the TRT when the TRT no longer exists?

Any new party that shares the same or similar policies to the now defunct TRT would surely run the risk of the same charge under the Democrats claim.

Its like saying, -- "if you don't think the way we want you to, we will have you banned". None the less, I expect the court to approve the Democrats claim as the majority of the judiciary is clearly supporting the junta, the Democrats and their elite brothers.

[Old Man River]

I must correct an error that gets repeated over and over on this topic. The military did not pick the EC commissioners. The EC commissioners were appointed prior to the coup, by the judiciary and the senate, under then PM Thaksin. Stop rewriting history please.

Please note that while they were appointed when Thaksin was PM, they shouldn't be confused as being pro Thaksin. The previous group were pro Thaksin and ended up in jail. This bunch, while appointed prior to the coup, is not pro Thaksin.

[Jai Dee]

PPP status to be decided on by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has accepted a petition launched by the Democrat Party to deliberate on whether or not the People’s Power Party is serving as a stand in for the disbanded Thai Rak Thai party. If the court rules that the People’s Power Party is acting on the behalf of the Thai Rak Thai party it will be dissolved and its planned coalition government will deteriorate.

The Democrat Party has alleged that many of the People’s Power Party’s action have signified that it is only working as a front for the dissolved party of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. People’s Power Party leader Samak Sundaravej himself has been vocal on his support of the ousted premiere and has sworn to aid in his return to the nation.

The Democrat Party contested many aspects of the People’s Power Party including Mr. Samak’s eligibility to take part in politics, the alleged use of banned video CDs in campaigning and the legitimacy of several of the party’s candidates. The Supreme Court, which is planned to meet on the matter on January 16 will rule whether or not the contestations are valid.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 January 2008

[Jai Dee]

EC officially approves 397 of 480 elected MPs

Chairman of the Election Commission (EC) Apichart Sukakanont (อภิชาติ สุขัคคานนท์) revealed the official declaration of the EC concerning the approval of members of parliament recently elected in the general election. The EC officially approved 397 of the elected officials and denied approval to 83 candidates.

The EC Chairman elaborated the denials to 4 candidates in the Party-List system which allows 400 seats in parliament and 79 constituency candidates which allows for 80 candidates. Mr. Apichart stated though that the law permits the denied candidates to appeal the decision within 30 days of the declaration. He asked that appeals be made within the time frame as if they are, penalization for fault will only be a 1 year banning from politics while an appeal made after the 30 days may result in a 5 year ban if the candidates are found to be guilty.

Mr. Apichart affirmed that the EC worked transparently and justly to finalize the list and did not make approvals based on allegiances or parties. The declaration revealed disqualifications from all major parties, including the People’s Power Party as well as the Democrat Party.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 January 2008

[Jingthing]

Cool. This should be very interesting. How can they possibly rule that PPP is not acting as a Thaksin TRT proxy when that is exactly what Samak has said with his big old mouth?????

[Jai Dee]

People Power deputy leader Yongyuth not concerned over ECs calling

The People Power Party deputy leader, Mr. Yongyuth Tiyapairat (ยงยุทธ ติยะไพรัช), expresses no worries after he has been called to give evidence on suspicious vote buying activities before the Election Commission (EC) on January 8th. Mr. Yongyuth says he is currently collecting relevant documents that could be used for his defence.

In addition, Mr. Yongyuth says his party may hold a major press conference on January 6th or 7th to talk about the EC’s work. He says the commission has yet to approve the polling results of the People Power Party.

Meanwhile, the People Power deputy leader has just returned from the United States and says he did not meet deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his visit.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 January 2008

[hammered]

If PPP is found to have broken the law it should be punished. The country cannot be held hostage to "great unwashed" threats. Ideally it should not have come to this, and the judges will be very careful in administering the sentence.

They surrendered the law to these threats once, in 2001, and the result was disastrous.

Thaksin is banned, and for a good reason. People will get burned as long as they refuse to accept the just punishement.

Plus if you follow the letter of the law I have no doubt that PPP will be disolved. After all Samak et al have been publically recorded admitting they were nominees and under Thai law a nominee counts as the person they are the nominee for. That person is banned from politcs. It is a pretty open and shut case legally. However, politcally that results in the disenfrachisement of the 40% of voters that supported PPP raising one of thsoe odd questions of in a democratic society how far does the law go in removing others electoral rights. In reality it would have been better to have had this decided before the election. Then if a party were deemed to be illegal people would have had other options of who to vote for and of course time could then have been made available for thsoe innocents in the said party to join others or set up their own. We also need to bear in mind the stark divisons in Thai society right now that could explode if a very popualr party is disolved or on the other hand if that party which won 40ish% of the votes decides it has a total mandate to do whatever it wants. What is needed, but maybe what we will not get, is compromise.

[Jai Dee]

Secretariat of the House of Representatives calls for credentials

Secretary-General of the House of Representatives Pitoon Poomhiran (พิฑูรย์ พุ่มหิรัญ) stated after the Election Commission’s (EC) declaration of approval for 397 of 480 Members of Parliament that his office would be accepting credentials from January 4th onward.

Mr. Pitoon said that his office would be open for approved members of parliament to submit their credentials and report for duty everyday with no exceptions for holidays. He stated that all MPs must submit a document of approval from the EC as well as copies of their personal information including identification cards and other licenses. The MPs will also have to submit several standard sized photos.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 January 2008

[HobbsTheFerociousTiger]

After refusing to participate in one election which they knew they'd lose, then attempting to disenfranchise a large section of the population in another (for that it exactly what is going on - even if there were a new election without the PPP, any party stepping up to take that part of the vote could be seen to be a proxy for Thaksin and thus subject to dissolution), does anybody else see the delicious irony of Abhisit's party calling themselves the "Democrats"?

I see it too. And completely agree with the above.

[Jai Dee]

PPP demanding EC to officially announce results in each polling station

Mr. Wattana Sengpairoh (วัฒนา เซ่งไพเราะ), the People Power Party’s Member of Parliament (MP) candidates, submitted a letter to the Election Commission (EC) yesterday (January 3rd), demanding the commission to officially announce the results in each polling station.

Mr. Wattana says the votes counted by the People Power Party and the results announced by the EC on December 24th last year is not the same, and he believes that the voting process may not be legitimate. He says one of the polling stations only used two people to count the ballots, but the regulation requires four counters.

Mr. Wattana also calls on the EC to consider issuing a red card to Democrat Party’s Member of Parliament (MP) candidate Kalaya Sophonpanich (กัลยา โสภณพนิช), following her accusation against the People Power Party during a press interview.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 January 2008

[quiksilva]

Samak and the PPP are far from inspirational, yet I still can't see why so many on this forum delight in what appears to be going on. Namely a party despite obstacles wins the largest vote. Next the military appointed EC starts to disqualify some members without them even being able to respond to the charges. Now we see that another 60 from the PPP are flagged for "investigation" with 20 from other parties tossed in to seem equitable.

Add to that the losing party seeking the courts to nulify PPP entirely claiming they were a nominee party of the military overthrown former PM. Seems this could have been better done prior the election, oops forgot, they weren't supposed to win. So if this plays out then we have half the countrys electorate disenfranchised. But there again as some of the elite members here have pointed out they are only ignorant Issan farmers any way.

Agreed. Assuming that the PPP is dissolved, things could really start to get ugly. You'd have to expect, for instance, that some form of martial law would have to be extended in the ex-TRT heartlands - I seriously doubt the "great unwashed" would take it all lying down. How's that for "national reconciliation"?

After refusing to participate in one election which they knew they'd lose, then attempting to disenfranchise a large section of the population in another (for that it exactly what is going on - even if there were a new election without the PPP, any party stepping up to take that part of the vote could be seen to be a proxy for Thaksin and thus subject to dissolution), does anybody else see the delicious irony of Abhisit's party calling themselves the "Democrats"?

I agree. But what is needed is a good government, who cares what you call it. Democracy, dictatorship, junta whatever. If that comes about by a preferred party being installed by way of Machiavellian maneuvers hidden behind the pretense of a seemingly democratic and legal process, fine.

Business doesn't care just so long as no one gets hurt and whoever ends up in charge is actually capable of running the country.

I'm sure the great unwashed would attempt to rise up with furious indignation, if they get paid enough.

Edited January 4, 2008 by quiksilva

[hammered]

If one wanted to be cynical with the current ongoings one could argue that the courts accept to hear a case of disolution against PPP and at the same time find a technicality say on advance voting that null and voids the election. Then there of course would be no reason to worry about holding the diso case while that party were in power. Of course a new election would need to be scheduled pretty pronto to keep the west and investors at least neutral. Organise an election for a short time hence. Disolve PPP a short while later and before the next election. They and their candidates do not have time to run in the new election. Voting takes place....... Democracy restored....... etc

Paranoid delusion of course but truly brilliant machiavellian manouvre if anyone were to plan it out.

[jbowman1993]

I must correct an error that gets repeated over and over on this topic. The military did not pick the EC commissioners. The EC commissioners were appointed prior to the coup, by the judiciary and the senate, under then PM Thaksin. Stop rewriting history please.

Please note that while they were appointed when Thaksin was PM, they shouldn't be confused as being pro Thaksin. The previous group were pro Thaksin and ended up in jail. This bunch, while appointed prior to the coup, is not pro Thaksin.

Too true. I only mentioned that they were appointed while Thaksin was still on office.

In case you forgot, I told all of you that Aphisit will be the next prime minister. Get ready for the "I told you so's" They will come at you like a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the jaw...

[sriracha john]

I have to wonder how the PPP can be a nominee for the TRT when the TRT no longer exists?

Any new party that shares the same or similar policies to the now defunct TRT would surely run the risk of the same charge under the Democrats claim.

Its like saying, -- "if you don't think the way we want you to, we will have you banned".

Taking a cue from jbowman1993's much-appreciated effort to keep things straight... PPP is not "any new party"... it was taken over specifically for the purpose for which it was intended... to be a proxy for the TRT. It was joined by hundreds, not handfuls like the other new parties, of former TRT members.

Veteran takes helm of People Power; key TRT figures also get party posts

Political veteran Samak Sundaravej yesterday said he did not mind being considered a nominee of Thaksin Shinawatra and vowed to restore the standing of the deposed prime minister after being elected leader of the People Power Party yesterday.

"I recognise the word 'nominee' positively because nominees have brought economic progress and prosperity to this country," Samak said.

"[in this case] I will be a nominee of Thaksin. I will make this party strong to restore the democracy of the country," he said.

Samak was elected by 80 votes to 33 at the assembly of the People Power Party, which recently admitted nearly 300 former MPs from Thaksin's now disbanded Thai Rak Thai party.

None the less, I expect the court to approve the Democrats claim as the majority of the judiciary is clearly supporting the junta, the Democrats and their elite brothers.

I would expect the court to follow the law based upon the voluminous evidence produced by the PPP itself.

Is the PPP a proxy for TRT?

Hmmmm... "Guilty as charged, your Honor"

[Plus]

The ideal outcome is for PPP to completely renounce it's "nominee party" stance.

How about suspended sentence? No mercy if they get caught again. I don't think it's going to work but it's worth trying.

That way the voters will still have the party of their choice and Thaksin will be kept banned.

Somehow I don't think that the "great unwashed" care about the party, btw. They voted for Thaksin, first and foremost.

[Old Man River]

I must correct an error that gets repeated over and over on this topic. The military did not pick the EC commissioners. The EC commissioners were appointed prior to the coup, by the judiciary and the senate, under then PM Thaksin. Stop rewriting history please.

Please note that while they were appointed when Thaksin was PM, they shouldn't be confused as being pro Thaksin. The previous group were pro Thaksin and ended up in jail. This bunch, while appointed prior to the coup, is not pro Thaksin.

Too true. I only mentioned that they were appointed while Thaksin was still on office.

In case you forgot, I told all of you that Aphisit will be the next prime minister. Get ready for the "I told you so's" They will come at you like a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the jaw...

On the EC, I just wanted to make sure nobody else was confused on where they actually stand (except for Sodsri, of course, as this is anyone's guess).

Approx. 6 months ago on TV I voiced my opinion that the next PM would either be Abhisit, Banharn or Dr. Supachai. I took a lot of heat at the time for putting Banharn's name in that group, but it is still a possibility. As for Dr. Supachai, I was dead wrong on this one. He didn't resign from the Democrats when he went to the WTO as I had thought, and in any event has shown no interest. Abhisit remains my personal preference.

[Abrak]

I would expect the court to follow the law based upon the voluminous evidence produced by the PPP itself.

Is the PPP a proxy for TRT?

Hmmmm... "Guilty as charged, your Honor"

It is clear that the majority of voters wanted to vote for the best representation of Thaksin there was.

Of course Thaksin, his party and most of his right hand men were banned from standing in the election. Having decided who could stand, it is somewhat disingenious to ban them after the event just because things having gone your way.

Of course the CNS are bitterly regretting holding elections in the first place - or more accurately they need to take lessons about rigging elections from people far more competent than them.

To be honest, Samak is such an odious character that it is hard to get excited. My main concern is that everyone involved is so incompetent we will not have a government of any sort for the foreseeable future. A shame on them and a pity for Thailand.

[blaze]

Hmmmm. Lots going on since I last took notice.

Interesting the court accepting from different individuals a number of cases for consideration of review including PPP being nominee and the election being invalid (a sense of deja vue?)

It is obvious the PPP is a nominee party of Thaksin and it would be hard to find anyone who would disagree with this. Some may scream oh but you have to prove it. Well that is probably easy enough too. However, having said that it doesnt mean disolution will happen. Thai courts have made decisions taking into account politcal realities before, notably the 2001 assets concealment case and the 111 ban. With appeals for unity will a court really disolve the PPP and start the whole process again? Also is there any heart for a new election? Surely Thailand has had enough of those for a while even if the thought of them does give the analysts a hard on. In some ways these issues going to the court is good as it allows for clarification once and for all, and it may not be the disolution expected.

In the meantime there is the issue of red cards and government formation. It may just happen that accepting a bunch of red cards is a better option than seeing the whole party and all invested in it going down the toilet.

The doomsday options seem to be disolving the PPP and intensifying and elongating the divisions, or allowing a Samak led government to seek revenge on all it deems wronged it and seeing some kind of clash from this. Once again I find myself thinking the only real way out of this (and as no party even before red card attacks enjoyed an outright win it remains a true democratic solution) is a PPP-Dem coalition. Even if the PPP are reduced by 60 odd MPs imho then the Dems should be inviting them to a coalition leaving the fiefdom parties of no ideology to sit in opposition and consider their own historical demise,

It is easy to talk government and strong opposition and yes this is the ideal format in a functioning healthy democracy. Sadly Thailand is not there yet and risks some more real setbacks maybe even worse than we have seen to date unless somebody takes the bull by the horns and agrees to compromise. The current fighting talk coming from both sides right now does not auger well. Lets hope it is just politcal manouvre. To my mind disolving the PPP is no way out and equally having an unfettered PPP seeking politcal revenge on a system or the is also no way out.

Now surely is a time for some of the elder statesmen of the big parties to step up to the plate and calm things down, and it is good that to date the two big parties have not engaged in open combat with no more than a few individual members asking for EC and court intervention in the electoral process from both parties.

Yes much weirdness- and one of the oddest little tidbits was today's editorial in the Post- wherein the writer demanded that the junta be tried- as in taken to court- and that a sentence be handed down- one sufficiently stern as to dissuade future coups.

This is something I have not even heard columnists suggest- let alone the editorial board of an influential paper.

[hammered]

Hmmmm. Lots going on since I last took notice.

Interesting the court accepting from different individuals a number of cases for consideration of review including PPP being nominee and the election being invalid (a sense of deja vue?)

It is obvious the PPP is a nominee party of Thaksin and it would be hard to find anyone who would disagree with this. Some may scream oh but you have to prove it. Well that is probably easy enough too. However, having said that it doesnt mean disolution will happen. Thai courts have made decisions taking into account politcal realities before, notably the 2001 assets concealment case and the 111 ban. With appeals for unity will a court really disolve the PPP and start the whole process again? Also is there any heart for a new election? Surely Thailand has had enough of those for a while even if the thought of them does give the analysts a hard on. In some ways these issues going to the court is good as it allows for clarification once and for all, and it may not be the disolution expected.

In the meantime there is the issue of red cards and government formation. It may just happen that accepting a bunch of red cards is a better option than seeing the whole party and all invested in it going down the toilet.

The doomsday options seem to be disolving the PPP and intensifying and elongating the divisions, or allowing a Samak led government to seek revenge on all it deems wronged it and seeing some kind of clash from this. Once again I find myself thinking the only real way out of this (and as no party even before red card attacks enjoyed an outright win it remains a true democratic solution) is a PPP-Dem coalition. Even if the PPP are reduced by 60 odd MPs imho then the Dems should be inviting them to a coalition leaving the fiefdom parties of no ideology to sit in opposition and consider their own historical demise,

It is easy to talk government and strong opposition and yes this is the ideal format in a functioning healthy democracy. Sadly Thailand is not there yet and risks some more real setbacks maybe even worse than we have seen to date unless somebody takes the bull by the horns and agrees to compromise. The current fighting talk coming from both sides right now does not auger well. Lets hope it is just politcal manouvre. To my mind disolving the PPP is no way out and equally having an unfettered PPP seeking politcal revenge on a system or the is also no way out.

Now surely is a time for some of the elder statesmen of the big parties to step up to the plate and calm things down, and it is good that to date the two big parties have not engaged in open combat with no more than a few individual members asking for EC and court intervention in the electoral process from both parties.

Yes much weirdness- and one of the oddest little tidbits was today's editorial in the Post- wherein the writer demanded that the junta be tried- as in taken to court- and that a sentence be handed down- one sufficiently stern as to dissuade future coups.

This is something I have not even heard columnists suggest- let alone the editorial board of an influential paper.

The Post seem to be having a go at everyone, which considering the way various groups are playing may well be a principled position. By the end of this all we could see all politicians, junta generals, and god knows who else totally discredited as they all play their games. Fiddling while Rome burnt (burnt in economic terms maybe). Thaksin and Sonthi sharing a cell , or mansion complete with private golf course in the prison compound as the case may be, would be quite a poetic ending to it all.

[cclub75]

My main concern is that everyone involved is so incompetent we will not have a government of any sort for the foreseeable future. A shame on them and a pity for Thailand.

Spot on.

Things could last... well... hel_l of a time.

Just imagine : the Supreme Court will say on january 16 if it will consider or not the "nominee case"...

With all the "evidences"... it will surely say "yes". That would launch a whole new legal process...

Therefore, how the PPP could form a new government with such uncertainty (the risk to be disbanded) ? !

Indeed, the flying circus is going to last.

And it's a serious blow to the "everything will be fine after the elections" crowd.

Nothing is solved. Nothing will be solved on a the short term.

[ando]

I would expect the court to follow the law based upon the voluminous evidence produced by the PPP itself.

Is the PPP a proxy for TRT?

Hmmmm... "Guilty as charged, your Honor"

The TRT does not exist anymore. The PPP might just as well be charged with being a proxy of the man in the moon.

But yes, I do agree with you that the courts will find the charge justified if other methods to prevent the PPP taking power fail.