Thai PM To Submit Dissolution Decree This Friday

[webfact]

Thai PM sets stage for tough election

by Anusak Konglang

BANGKOK, May 6, 2011 (AFP) - Thailand's premier fired the starting gun Friday for the first general election in the politically divided nation since deadly protests rocked Bangkok last year, with a vote expected by early July.

British-born, Oxford-educated premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose term finishes at the end of this year, is gambling on early polls to propel him to a second term and silence critics who say he has no popular mandate.

Abhisit, the head of the elite-backed Democrat Party, said he had submitted a royal decree to King Bhumibol Adulyadej for the lower house to be dissolved for a poll set to be held in late June or early July.

"It's done already," he told reporters before leaving for Indonesia for a summit of Southeast Asian leaders.

He did not reveal the election date but said he would hold a news conference on Monday.

By law, polls must be held between 45 and 60 days after house dissolution, which would take effect once the decree is signed by Thailand's 83-year-old monarch, who has been hospitalised since September 2009.

Abhisit's party -- the country's oldest, with a support base in Bangkok and the south -- has not won a general election in nearly two decades and faces a struggle to cling to power, even with the support of its coalition partners.

Abhisit took office in a 2008 parliamentary vote after a court ruling threw out the previous administration, and he is accused by his political foes of being an unelected puppet of the military and the establishment.

The vote comes at a time of heightened political sensitivity for the country, which remains deeply divided a year after a military crackdown on opposition protests in the capital that left 90 people dead, mostly civilians.

Parties affiliated to fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra have won the most seats in the past four elections, but the former tycoon was toppled in a 2006 coup and courts reversed the results of the last two polls.

Abhisit defied sceptics last year to survive a crippling political crisis marked by a series of clashes between demonstrators and armed troops in Bangkok. It was the country's worst political violence in decades.

Many of the mainly rural, working class Reds are loyal to Thaksin, who lives overseas to avoid a jail sentence imposed in absentia for corruption, but is considered the de facto leader of the opposition Puea Thai.

The opposition party, which is particularly strong in the rural north and northeast, has not yet announced its candidate for prime minister, although Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra has been touted as a top contender.

Thailand has suffered years of political instability, punctuated by unrest and military intervention, with 18 actual or attempted coups since 1932, when the country became a constitutional monarchy.

The current army chief has ruled out another coup, but that has not dampened speculation of possible military intervention.

"A coup is always possible but I don't think if there is one that it will be in the pre-election period," said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thai political expert at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

"It must be more likely in the post-election period, especially if the results are unacceptable for the elite."

Pavin believes a coup would be a "last resort" for Thaksin's foes.

"They can use other tactics less damaging than a coup, like the intervention of a court again," he said.

Thaksin, a former billionaire telecoms tycoon who led his party to landslide victories in 2001 and 2005, is hailed by the Reds for his policies for the poor while in power.

But he is regarded by the Thai ruling elite as authoritarian, corrupt and a threat to the revered monarchy, and faces terrorism charges in Thailand, accused of bankrolling last year's protests and instigating unrest.

The authorities have clamped down on Red Shirt media and last month police raided more than a dozen local radio stations sympathetic to their cause.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-05-06

[webfact]

House Dissolution Decree To Be Submitted for Royal Approval Today

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has confirmed that he will submit a House dissolution decree for royal approval this afternoon before leaving for the ASEAN Summit. He will be holding a press conference on Monday when he returns.

The Constitution Court, which is deliberating three organic election laws, is also expected to come to a decision on Monday, May 9 as well.

-- Tan Network 2011-05-06

[webfact]

PM to submit Royal Decree on House Dissolution

By The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva plans Friday's afternoon to submit the Royal Decree on House Dissolution before departing at 4.25 pm for the Asean Summit in Jakarta.

"I will return (to Bangkok) and make a statement on Monday to explain the details on House Dissolution," he said.

Abhisit said he had previously informed His Majesty about his plan to dissolve the House and that the Royal Decree would be presented for royal approval in accordance to the Royal Palace procedures.

He left out the question about the date for decree issuing, saying he would be back in time. He is expected to arrive back in the capital on Sunday's night.

He urged parties concerned not to speculate on the matter ahead of his Monday's statement.

-- The Nation 2011-05-06

[webfact]

PM: Royal decree on House dissolution to be submitted to King Friday afternoon

BANGKOK, May 6 -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Friday said a royal decree on House dissolution for general election would be submitted to His Majesty the King this afternoon before his departure to Jakarta for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) summit.

Mr Abhisit told reporters that he would submit the decree to King Bhumibol Adulyadej for royal endorsement on the dissolution of the lower house or the House of Representatives.

He said the move was in accordance with the plan he has earlier notified the monarch and announced to the general public.

The premier did not mention the election date but said he would hold a news conference detailing the general election on Monday. The election is expected to be held in late June or early July.

He urged all parties to refrain from criticising the issue as the process was proceeding.

The premier also said he was confident that the move would not have any legal problems and the country could move forward after the election.

Mr Abhisit reiterated that the House would be dissolved in the first week of May for general election which, according to the law, would be held within 45-60 days after the House dissolution.

The election is expected to be close-fought as the country remains deeply divided a year after opposition rallies by the anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) or "Red Shirt" movement last year.

The protests ignited the worst political violence in decades, leaving at least 90 people dead in clashes between demonstrators and armed troops in Bangkok.

The premier was scheduled to leave Bangkok at 4.25pm to attend 18th ASEAN summit in Jakarta and would return to Thailand on Sunday at 10.40pm. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-05-06

[webfact]

PM confirms before leaving for ASEAN Summit in Indonesia that he has submitted House dissolution decree for royal endorsement already /TAN_Network

[Buchholz]

A man of his word.

He said he would do it the first week of May and sure enough, despite all the hang-wringing assurances that he would never deliver...

he did so in the first week of May.

[friendphil]

This last sentence in the story interests me:

"The authorities have clamped down on Red Shirt media and last month police raided more than a dozen local radio stations sympathetic to their cause."

I'm surprised that I haven't seen postings on this site reporting any of these raids. Has anyone seen news of them before? Maybe I'd need to be listening to the Red Shirt-sympathetic media to have wind of it. Chai mai krap?

[jdinasia]

This last sentence in the story interests me:

"The authorities have clamped down on Red Shirt media and last month police raided more than a dozen local radio stations sympathetic to their cause."

I'm surprised that I haven't seen postings on this site reporting any of these raids. Has anyone seen news of them before? Maybe I'd need to be listening to the Red Shirt-sympathetic media to have wind of it. Chai mai krap?

It has a thread of its own and is being discussed in three others including the Freedom of Speech thread ....

The local radio stations were all unlicensed and illegal.

[TAWP]

This last sentence in the story interests me:

"The authorities have clamped down on Red Shirt media and last month police raided more than a dozen local radio stations sympathetic to their cause."

I'm surprised that I haven't seen postings on this site reporting any of these raids. Has anyone seen news of them before? Maybe I'd need to be listening to the Red Shirt-sympathetic media to have wind of it. Chai mai krap?

Maybe you just need to read more news[posts]...it is here.

[whybother]

This last sentence in the story interests me:

"The authorities have clamped down on Red Shirt media and last month police raided more than a dozen local radio stations sympathetic to their cause."

I'm surprised that I haven't seen postings on this site reporting any of these raids. Has anyone seen news of them before? Maybe I'd need to be listening to the Red Shirt-sympathetic media to have wind of it. Chai mai krap?

I'm surprised that you made the last comment without actually looking at the news threads.