Thailand To Hold Elections Before June: Deputy PM Suthep

[webfact]

Thailand to hold elections before June: deputy PM

by Boonradom Chitradon

BANGKOK, February 17, 2011 (AFP) - Thailand will hold a general election by the middle of this year, the deputy prime minister said Thursday, setting the stage for a fierce poll battle in the politically divided nation.

"I guarantee that it will happen before June," Suthep Thaugsuban told reporters when asked about the timing of the keenly awaited vote.

His comments followed the passing of a mid-year budget and recent constitutional amendments, which the government had set as a prerequisite for an early election, along with peaceful conditions for the polls.

Mass protests last April and May by the "Red Shirt" opposition movement -- which was seeking immediate elections -- left more than 90 people dead in street clashes between demonstrators and armed soldiers.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said last week an election would be held in the first half of this year if there was no fresh violence.

The British-born, Oxford-educated head of the establishment Democrat Party must call a vote by the end of this year, when his term finishes.

Abhisit defied sceptics last year to survive Thailand's worst political crisis in decades, and many observers expect the Democrats to cling to power for another term, possibly by forming another coalition with smaller partners.

"This government will be re-elected," said Somjai Phagaphasvivat, a political science professor at Bangkok's Thammasat University.

"Puea Thai (the main opposition party) will get lot of votes but not enough seats to form a government, while the Democrats will gain more votes and will collaborate with its current coalition partners to stay in power."

At the height of the Red Shirt crisis, Abhisit proposed holding a poll in November 2010 to resolve the stand-off, but shelved the plan because demonstrators refused to disperse until the army moved in.

In the months after the military broke up the rally, the capital was rattled by a string of minor explosions while it was under emergency rule.

Somjai said he believed the Red Shirts had been weakened by their failure to achieve their goal last year.

"Some people disagreed with their violent way. The Red Shirts need to adjust their strategy but it will be harder for them because a new election is coming. Violence will continue but will be less severe," he said.

There is also uncertainty about whether the opposition will be able to translate strong support for the Reds, particularly in the rural northeast, into success at the ballot box.

The Red Shirts view Abhisit's government as undemocratic because it came to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote with the backing of the army after a court ruling threw out the previous administration.

The red-clad movement, which is broadly loyal to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has held a series of peaceful one-day rallies in the capital in recent weeks.

Their arch-rivals -- "Yellow Shirt" nationalist activists who claim allegiance to the throne -- have been rallying near Government House recently in protest at Abhisit's handling of a deadly border dispute with Cambodia.

The cabinet recently agreed to invoke the Internal Security Act in Bangkok to cope with the renewed political rallies.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-02-17

[webfact]

Deputy PM Suthep: General elections will be held before June

BANGKOK, Feb 17 -- Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on Thursday asserted that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will dissolve Parliament and call fresh general elections before June this year.

Mr Suthep told reporters that he could guarantee that the general election would be held before June.

His comments followed last night's parliamentary approval in its first reading of a mid-year supplementary budget bill and the joint sitting of Parliament approved in its third reading the constitution amendments last Friday.

The mid-year budget bill proposing government spending of Bt100 billion was approved in its first reading with 265-61 votes, with 93 MPs abstaining.

The House has set up a 45-member panel to vet the bill in seven days.

Mr Abhisit stressed earlier that fresh elections could be held after three conditions had been met: economic recovery, completion of the constitutional amendments and Thailand's political stability.

He said the first two conditions appeared to have been achieved, so the last remaining condition was that any election must be held under peaceful conditions.

The government is under mounting pressure as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD)-- the Red Shirt movement-- is still protesting at least once a month, demanding the release of its leaders who face terrorism charges after their ten-week protests ended in street clashes between demonstrators and soldiers last May with 90 dead.

While its rivals, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD)-- the Yellow Shirts and the Thailand Patriots Network-- have been rallying near Government House in protest against Mr Abhisit's handling of the now deadly border dispute with Cambodia, and have vowed to intensify their campaign.

Meanwhile, Mr Suthep declined to comment on a proposal to amend the Constitution to not give authority to government to dissolve the House of Parliament and give priority to the political party winning the most party-listed members to have the right to form the government.

He said the Constitution could be amended but it has to be done carefully. The balance of power should also be taken into account, he said, adding that a stable government would be good for national politics.

The idea was proposed by Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, rector of the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), who was appointed by the prime minister to head a working group on constitutional reform. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-02-17

[webfact]

FRESH ELECTION

General poll to be held before June : Suthep

By Thai News Agency

The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will dissolve Parliament and call fresh general elections before June this year, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Thursday.

Suthep guaranteed that the general election would be held before June.

His comments followed the parliamentary approval in its first reading of a mid-year supplementary budget bill on Wednesday night and the joint sitting of Parliament approved in its third reading the constitution amendments last Friday.

The mid-year budget bill proposing government spending of Bt100 billion was approved in its first reading with 265-61 votes, with 93 MPs abstaining. The House has set up a 45-member panel to vet the bill in seven days.

Abhisit had earlier said that fresh elections could be held after three conditions had been met: economic recovery, completion of the constitutional amendments and Thailand's political stability.

He said the first two conditions appeared to have been achieved, so the last remaining condition was that any election must be held under peaceful conditions.

Meanwhile, Suthep declined to comment on a proposal to amend the Constitution not to give authority to government to dissolve the House of Parliament and give priority to the political party winning the most party-listed members to have the right to form the government.

He said the Constitution could be amended but it has to be done carefully. The balance of power should also be taken into account, he said, adding that a stable government would be good for national politics.

-- The Nation 2011-02-17

[webfact]

House Dissolution Likely before June

The deputy prime minister in charge of security affairs affirms that House dissolution and the next general election will take place before June.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, also the ruling Democrat Party's secretary general, said the prime minister will certainly dissolve the House and call a new general election before June as earlier declared.

Suthep further said that he and PM's Secretary General Korbsak Sabhavasu have been assigned to be in charge of formulating election strategies and policies for the party and affirmed that patterns of the new government formation are not being planned now as the election has yet to take place.

The deputy premier also commented on the recommendations by the Constitution Amendment Committee, chaired by Sombat.

Thamrongthanyawong, that the prime minister's power to dissolve the House be canceled, MPs to be banned from taking ministerial posts and the party winning the highest vote under the party-list system get the first chance to form a government.

Suthep said the proposals do not come from the Democrat Party.

He added that when the recommendations are officially proposed, the government will take them into consideration.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Chai Chidchob declined to comment on the Constitution Amendment Committee's proposals.

Asked about the Opposition's move to lodge its complaint over suspected irregularities in the amendment process with the Constitution Court, Chai said the matter is under the court's judgement.

If the court denies the Opposition's complaint, the premier will be able to present the constitution amendment drafts to His Majesty King for his endorsement.

He expected the matter to be clearer by this week.

-- Tan Network 2011-02-17