Police To Remove PAD "Vote No" Campaign Signs

[Puccini]

...The Country in Question is the USA, and the Amendment is to the "Bill of Rights" which is part of the US Constitution...

Last time I looked, this topic was about Thailand. I think it would be a good idea if you read Thailand's constitution -- it is not long -- and then discussed the constitution of Thailand, not that of another country, in the context of this topic. Do you know how many countries there are in this world? Over 200. Imagine if people wanted to discuss the constitutions of all these countries here.

...

And the point of my post was to draw attention to the Lack of ENFORCEMENT of ANY Right in the Thai Constitution... If any 'Rights' Exist... which, in Thailand DO NOT include the Right to FREEDOM OF SPEECH!... and how far from a 'Real' Democracy this country is!...

It is every person's individual right to chose whether or not to exercise a particular constitutional right and to stand up for his rights if they are denied to him. Now, if you want to say that the Thai constitution should give people the right to plaster public spaces freely, without any laws and regulations controlling it, with posters advertising their personal opinions, then please post accordingly and it can be discussed here.

[Puccini]

Apparently there IS a "none of the above" line.

This is interesting. If this is the case, then the disputed poster should give a reproduction of that line on the ballot sheet with an "x" in the box next to it, just like other parties campaign with "Vote No. 3", for example. I don't know, though, whether with such modification it would then qualify as an election campaign poster under the apposite laws and regulations.

I am really interested now to see a copy of the ballot sheet, but I guess it is difficult to get it.

[Puccini]

...people in Thailand get punished for spoiling their votes...

Are you sure about that? It would seem a bit harsh, but at any rate, the votes are cast anonymously and I don't see a way to identify the voter who deposited a spoilt ballot sheet, ie a sheet on which he added or deleted text or otherwise defaced it. I believe such sheets are simply counted as invalid votes.

[Puccini]

...Compulsory voting is something I approve of, in that I feel (note the word "feel") that it is every citizen's duty to vote in a democracy...

...As for compulsory on non-compulsory, I don't mind whether they have it or not to a great extent. I don't think it is that much of an imposition to have to vote, but, I simply think that it is a right not to bother to vote too. Of course, this gets taken to the nth degree in Thailand when my wife had to return 3 times to vote because of the plethora of yellow and red cards handed out in her home province, or the holidays and general exodus that occurs in Thailand. The whole process turns into a pilgrimage more than a vote...

Voting is, in a sense, compulsory, but I cannot quite figure out the punishment for, or the consequences of, failing to fulfil this duty. From Thailand’s constitution:

Section 72. Every person shall have a duty to exercise his right to vote at an election.

The person who exercises his right to vote at an election or fails to attend an election for voting without notifying the reasonable cause of such failure shall be entitled to or lose the right as provided by law.

The notification of the cause of failure to attend an election and the provision of facilities for attendance thereat shall be in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Does a person who “fails to attend an election for voting without notifying the reasonable cause of such failure” lose “the right as provided by law” only for the election he failed to attend or for the rest of his life? I guess we would have to read the law in question to find the answer.

[whybother]

...Compulsory voting is something I approve of, in that I feel (note the word "feel") that it is every citizen's duty to vote in a democracy...

...As for compulsory on non-compulsory, I don't mind whether they have it or not to a great extent. I don't think it is that much of an imposition to have to vote, but, I simply think that it is a right not to bother to vote too. Of course, this gets taken to the nth degree in Thailand when my wife had to return 3 times to vote because of the plethora of yellow and red cards handed out in her home province, or the holidays and general exodus that occurs in Thailand. The whole process turns into a pilgrimage more than a vote...

Voting is, in a sense, compulsory, but I cannot quite figure out the punishment for, or the consequences of, failing to fulfil this duty. From Thailand's constitution:

Section 72. Every person shall have a duty to exercise his right to vote at an election.

The person who exercises his right to vote at an election or fails to attend an election for voting without notifying the reasonable cause of such failure shall be entitled to or lose the right as provided by law.

The notification of the cause of failure to attend an election and the provision of facilities for attendance thereat shall be in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Does a person who "fails to attend an election for voting without notifying the reasonable cause of such failure" lose "the right as provided by law" only for the election he failed to attend or for the rest of his life? I guess we would have to read the law in question to find the answer.

There were a couple of MP candidates that were disqualified because they didn't vote in the last election.

[Puccini]

There were a couple of MP candidates that were disqualified because they didn't vote in the last election.

I found the legal clause, and deprivation of the right to stand as a candidate is indeed one of the consequences of the failure to vote in a previous election. From the "Organic Act on election of members of the house of representatives and installation of senators":

Section 26 In the case where a voter fails to exercise the right to vote in an election

without notifying the appropriate cause of such failure or has notified the cause but it is not

reasonable or is a person whose name is published under Section 25, such person shall be

deprived of the followings:

(1) the right to petition an election of Members of the House of Representatives and

Senators;

(2) the right to be a candidate in an election and to be nominated for the selection of

Members of the House of Representatives, Senators, local administrators or members of the

local assembly;

(3) the right to be a candidate in an election of Khamnan or Phuyai-Ban under the law

on local administration.

Section 27 The deprivation of rights under Section 26 shall be for a period as from the

election day on which such voter fails to exercise the right to vote to the election day on

which such voter attends therefor, whether in an election of Members of the House of

Representatives, Senators or local administrators or members of the local assembly.

To appeal against the deprivation of rights, the voter shall file a petition with the

Election Commission of Changwat by presenting evidence according to which he or she has

exercised his or her right to vote in the previous election. The Election Commission of

Changwat shall consider the petition and issue an order within fifteen days as from the date of

the petition.

The rules and procedure on the filing and the hearing of petition under paragraph two

shall be prescribed by the Election Commission.

[ozsamurai]

I think I'll go for this guy.......

[Puccini]

Apparently there IS a "none of the above" line.

I have now found confirmation for this in the "Organic Act on election of members of the house of representatives and installation of senators":

Section 67 The vote-casting shall be made by marking a cross in a space for an entry

of a mark of the number of a candidate or a political party on the ballot paper. In the case

where a voter intends to cast a vote for non-voting, the voter shall mark a cross in the space

for indicating the intention to cast a vote for non-voting in the ballot paper.

[Puccini]

Wikipedia gives this example of the ballot paper for the 2007 elections:

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thai_general_election_2007_11.jpg

[Puccini]

From the OP:

Police are preparing to remove the “Vote No” campaign signs of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, reasoning it has nothing to do with the upcoming election.

...

He added that police have coordinated with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for the removal of the “Vote No” campaign signs which the Election Commission has already ruled as being irrelevant to the upcoming poll...

I have finished the study of the "Organic Act on election of members of the house of representatives and installation of senators" and believe that the following is relevant:

Section 59 The Election Commission shall determine the rules governing the

operations of the State to support an election in the following matters:

(1) providing places for posting up notices and a posters relating to the election in the

area of a public place owned by the State, sufficiently and equally for the purpose of an

election campaign, to every candidate;

...

Section 60 ...There shall not be any notice or poster relating to an election whose dimension or

number does not comply with the rules prescribed by the Election Commission.

The question -- the only question -- appears to be whether the Election Commission was right in deciding that the "Vote No" poster is irrelevant to the upcoming election in July or otherwise not permissible under the law. My opinion is that a poster suggesting to voters that they should cast a so-called "vote for non-voting" in accordance with section 67 is, in fact, relevant to the election. However, section 59 says that candidates, not parties, must be allowed to put up posters. Therefore, the "Vote No" poster should identify the candidate making that suggestion and, I think, state more clearly what box on the ballot paper he suggests should be marked since there is no box labelled "Vote No".

If the person, party or other organisation that put up the posters feels that the decision of the Election Commission is incorrect, it should feel free to appeal the decision.

Edited June 8, 2011 by Puccini

[Thai at Heart]

...people in Thailand get punished for spoiling their votes...

Are you sure about that? It would seem a bit harsh, but at any rate, the votes are cast anonymously and I don't see a way to identify the voter who deposited a spoilt ballot sheet, ie a sheet on which he added or deleted text or otherwise defaced it. I believe such sheets are simply counted as invalid votes.

http://<URL Automatically Removed>/thailand-and-asia-news/22789-thailand-18-voters-arrested-countrywide-tearing.html

http://<URL Automatically Removed>/thailand-and-asia-news/17158-buri-ram-former-school-director-arrested.html

http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/toc/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1003921

http://www.polsci.chula.ac.th/pitch/kobe/pitchep1.pdf

well, these were ripped. seems that jobsworths exist all over the world. either way, spoiling your ballot isn't allowed.

http://www.polsci.chula.ac.th/pitch/kobe/pitchep1.pdf

this last link is interesting and quite funny reading.

The 2005 National Election on the 6th of February 2005 is the 21th

National Election in Thailand. The Thai Rak Thai Party (the ruling party)

won 377 seats, the Democrat Party won 96 seats, the Chart Thai Party won

25 seats, and the Mahachon Party won 2 seats.

how times change

The plan to organize a 'coyote' dance in front of the tanks to

cheer up and support the coup, as well as making a music video was banned.29

The spokesman of the CDR intoned: 'It is not appropriate to entertain

soldiers while they are on duty', and 'People should differentiate between

entertainment and seriousness. A coup is not entertaining.' From the street

and multimedia demonstrations and campaigns to boycott the election, the

eventual nullification of the April 2006 election, to the disqualification of

the Election Commission, and, finally the suspension of the October election

as a result of the coup, the middle class seemed to have come to believe that

democratization can be carried out by an institution that is generally considered

undemocratic, in order to get rid of demo(n)cratic national and royal

traitors like Thanksin. The 'festive moment' seemed to be for the middle

class a way to energize Thai politics out of the stringent and ultra-rational

legal framework of the 1997 Constitution.

A quite interesting take on the situation back then

Edited June 8, 2011 by Thai at Heart

[Buchholz]

Wikipedia gives this example of the ballot paper for the 2007 elections:

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thai_general_election_2007_11.jpg

the box in the lower right hand corner of these sample ballots is the "no vote" box

Edited June 8, 2011 by Buchholz

[samurai]

I wasn't aware that there is a none of the above on the ballot in Thailand. If so, I stand corrected, and more surprising that more people don't use this right anyway.

It is a democratic right to vote no, but then I don't necessarily agree that it should be compulsory to vote. I could see the PAD/Heaven and Earth party claiming that they won the election, if the amount of NO votes made 50.1% LOL

Imagine what it would do for vote rigging, if you didn't even have to go? Maybe they should look at this as a way of reducing vote buying. Or maybe, it would increase it because they would have to pay more to make you go?

You might want to go back and look at the nullified last TRT/Thaksin election. The Dems ran a "No-Vote" campaign that caused the election to be nullified. (under the 20% rule)

Compulsory voting is something I approve of, in that I feel (note the word "feel") that it is every citizen's duty to vote in a democracy. I wish my country had it.

It wasn't only the Dems who run that ""No-Vote" campaign. "

Actually at first Abhisit said he would be ready to become the new PM before the Dems decided to boycott the election, like the other parties.

Edited June 9, 2011 by samurai

[webfact]

to continue

EC votes to remove 'No' vote billboards

Follow this link:

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