Thailand's Democrats Seek Ban On Thaksin Party

[alphaboy1000]

How can readers be so out of touch with reality?

Thaksin bought off just about every man & his dog.

Motorbike drivers, taxi drivers, sidewalk vendors,

shop attendants, and many more were given

1000 baht for their votes.

Heads of constituencies were given 1,000,000 baht

to gather votes for Thaksin.

This information i know first hand, for here around

my neighbourhood all such people vanished

mysteriously out of sight much earlier than usual

on the eve of the elections.

Later they themselves told me they had gone to collect

their money.

Do you still call this a democracy?

[Thaddeus]

There is one question that I do not know the answer.

Only one?

I'd demand a recount.

(as long as it didn't mean taking your socks off)

[SeanMoran]

How can readers be so out of touch with reality?

Thaksin bought off just about every man & his dog.

Motorbike drivers, taxi drivers, sidewalk vendors,

shop attendants, and many more were given

1000 baht for their votes.

Heads of constituencies were given 1,000,000 baht

to gather votes for Thaksin.

This information i know first hand, for here around

my neighbourhood all such people vanished

mysteriously out of sight much earlier than usual

on the eve of the elections.

Later they themselves told me they had gone to collect

their money.

Do you still call this a democracy?

My girlfriend's elder sister fell over in the bathroom Mokolakom. She had to go to the hospital and feed and bathe her own sister until she recovered. They charged her 6,000 baht. I put in 2,000 to help out. My girlfriend and her sister were both born in Ban Khai, Rayong. Where did the 30 baht plan go? Yingluck doesn't have to pay for votes. Thailand wants affordable health care for 100% of the population.

I think of all the Ventolin puffers I bought for the daughter of a friend who was a maid at a hotel I stayed at last year. 200 baht a puffer. Where is the government to help a mother who earns 4,000 baht p/m pay for her daughter to breathe at night?

What am I supposed to be? The saviour of Thailand? No thanks. Your country, your problem Yingluck, That is why they voted for you. I didn't vote because I am farang, but I have been taking care of your citizens out of my own pocket for two years now, and I think it is time that a little girl with asthma can go to the doctor and get herself a ventolin at a price her mother can afford, because I'm run out of money, and she still has asthma, and so do I.

Edited July 9, 2011 by SeanMoran

[EnSvenskTiger]

How can readers be so out of touch with reality?

Thaksin bought off just about every man & his dog.

Motorbike drivers, taxi drivers, sidewalk vendors,

shop attendants, and many more were given

1000 baht for their votes.

Heads of constituencies were given 1,000,000 baht

to gather votes for Thaksin.

This information i know first hand, for here around

my neighbourhood all such people vanished

mysteriously out of sight much earlier than usual

on the eve of the elections.

Later they themselves told me they had gone to collect

their money.

Do you still call this a democracy?

Yes! Yes it is.

Since the majorityof the voters voted for the party that came to power it is a democracy.

In manyother nations it is common to make promises to voters such as lower tax forthis and that and subsidiaries for some groups in order to persuade them tovote for a specific party.

In realityno difference from Thai system.

[TAWP]

If you don't want to have problems with complaints, don't cheat or try to abuse the election laws.

If you have not cheated or abused the election laws then no complaints are going to affect you.

If PT really was so 'loved by all' that it didn't matter if they paid anyway...why do they? Just sail through the election spotless and avoid all future problems of having any MPs red-carded etc.

[SeanMoran]

Thanks for tonight's conversation. I hope we can grind on again tomorrow about the politics and Thai life, but my girl just got home from work, and my latest Linux build is almost ready for testing, so I am going to get my priorities right, and test the Linux tomorrow and see you again tomorrow. There are more urgent matters to be dealt with at this moment, so goodnight and good dreams. See you tomorrow mates.

[cup-O-coffee]

Couldn't get past the article's title, and sorry ladies and gentlemen, but I am too tired to read your posts all.

This is crap, plain and simple. People who are on their last knot in the rope and don't have enough sense to let it go. As Rambo said in First Blood part 1, "Let it go! Let... it... go!"

So screw the people. Who cares that the people made a choice. The stubborn, spoiled brats in power don't like that do they? The media reports a decisive victory and these losers make like a Thai soap opera in demonstrating their being upset about the status quo.

Boo hoo. Get over it and get a life. You certainly have enough money after you tossed out Thaksin and made room for more opportunity for yourselves. And now the chickens come home to roost. You really don't want to go there, and no sensible judge will take your case,

Another stupid, inciteful article by Pulitzer wanna-be's

[rubl]

My girlfriend's elder sister fell over in the bathroom Mokolakom. She had to go to the hospital and feed and bathe her own sister until she recovered. They charged her 6,000 baht. I put in 2,000 to help out. My girlfriend and her sister were both born in Ban Khai, Rayong. Where did the 30 baht plan go? Yingluck doesn't have to pay for votes. Thailand wants affordable health care for 100% of the population.

I think of all the Ventolin puffers I bought for the daughter of a friend who was a maid at a hotel I stayed at last year. 200 baht a puffer. Where is the government to help a mother who earns 4,000 baht p/m pay for her daughter to breathe at night?

What am I supposed to be? The saviour of Thailand? No thanks. Your country, your problem Yingluck, That is why they voted for you. I didn't vote because I am farang, but I have been taking care of your citizens out of my own pocket for two years now, and I think it is time that a little girl with asthma can go to the doctor and get herself a ventolin at a price her mother can afford, because I'm run out of money, and she still has asthma, and so do I.

You touch some sore points here. What was included in the 30B scheme, what was still there when it became free? Somehow I'm afraid the answer is 'health care' like in 'doctor will have a look, here are some tablets'.

Without funding 'universial health care' has no real meaning. Nor should anyone expect it to bring the cover one expects when paying for it!

Now let's go back to the OP with 'Dem's ruthlessly asked the EC to investigate seemingly irregularities and a possible breach of the Election Law regarding the activities of banned politicians in lieu of the Pheu Thai election campaign'

Edited July 9, 2011 by rubl

[rubl]

Couldn't get past the article's title, and sorry ladies and gentlemen, but I am too tired to read your posts all.

This is crap, plain and simple. People who are on their last knot in the rope and don't have enough sense to let it go. As Rambo said in First Blood part 1, "Let it go! Let... it... go!"

So screw the people. Who cares that the people made a choice. The stubborn, spoiled brats in power don't like that do they? The media reports a decisive victory and these losers make like a Thai soap opera in demonstrating their being upset about the status quo.

Boo hoo. Get over it and get a life. You certainly have enough money after you tossed out Thaksin and made room for more opportunity for yourselves. And now the chickens come home to roost. You really don't want to go there, and no sensible judge will take your case,

Another stupid, inciteful article by Pulitzer wanna-be's

Obviously you had a bad day, so rather than biting into your post, I simply wish you well my friend. Stay cool, grap a beer and keep smiling. Tomorrow is another day

[cup-O-coffee]

Couldn't get past the article's title, and sorry ladies and gentlemen, but I am too tired to read your posts all.

This is crap, plain and simple. People who are on their last knot in the rope and don't have enough sense to let it go. As Rambo said in First Blood part 1, "Let it go! Let... it... go!"

So screw the people. Who cares that the people made a choice. The stubborn, spoiled brats in power don't like that do they? The media reports a decisive victory and these losers make like a Thai soap opera in demonstrating their being upset about the status quo.

Boo hoo. Get over it and get a life. You certainly have enough money after you tossed out Thaksin and made room for more opportunity for yourselves. And now the chickens come home to roost. You really don't want to go there, and no sensible judge will take your case,

Another stupid, inciteful article by Pulitzer wanna-be's

Obviously you had a bad day, so rather than biting into your post, I simply wish you well my friend. Stay cool, grap a beer and keep smiling. Tomorrow is another day

Thanks Rubl. You had me laughing. Actually I am already sucking down the suds. I get entertainment from Thaivisa. You can't write this stuff, and I include myself in that statement. If you are female, judging by your avatar, then I am sure that my wife won't mind me saying that I would rather have you taker a bite out of me by gracing me with a dance on a dance floor, rather than bantering and cracking over stupid issues that are meaningless.

You are diamond. Thanks for the well wishing.

[rubl]

Couldn't get past the article's title, and sorry ladies and gentlemen, but I am too tired to read your posts all.

This is crap, plain and simple. People who are on their last knot in the rope and don't have enough sense to let it go. As Rambo said in First Blood part 1, "Let it go! Let... it... go!"

So screw the people. Who cares that the people made a choice. The stubborn, spoiled brats in power don't like that do they? The media reports a decisive victory and these losers make like a Thai soap opera in demonstrating their being upset about the status quo.

Boo hoo. Get over it and get a life. You certainly have enough money after you tossed out Thaksin and made room for more opportunity for yourselves. And now the chickens come home to roost. You really don't want to go there, and no sensible judge will take your case,

Another stupid, inciteful article by Pulitzer wanna-be's

Obviously you had a bad day, so rather than biting into your post, I simply wish you well my friend. Stay cool, grap a beer and keep smiling. Tomorrow is another day

Thanks Rubl. You had me laughing. Actually I am already sucking down the suds. I get entertainment from Thaivisa. You can't write this stuff, and I include myself in that statement. If you are female, judging by your avatar, then I am sure that my wife won't mind me saying that I would rather have you taker a bite out of me by gracing me with a dance on a dance floor, rather than bantering and cracking over stupid issues that are meaningless.

You are diamond. Thanks for the well wishing.

Whether your wife would object or not is totally unimportant (to me). Had you looked at my profile you'd seen 'gender: male'. My member name is 'rubl', or somewhat more clear 'RUBL'; my avatar reflects my stance 'wondering', but not a gender or inclination.

So once more, grab that beer and keep smiling to your missus

[cup-O-coffee]

Couldn't get past the article's title, and sorry ladies and gentlemen, but I am too tired to read your posts all.

This is crap, plain and simple. People who are on their last knot in the rope and don't have enough sense to let it go. As Rambo said in First Blood part 1, "Let it go! Let... it... go!"

So screw the people. Who cares that the people made a choice. The stubborn, spoiled brats in power don't like that do they? The media reports a decisive victory and these losers make like a Thai soap opera in demonstrating their being upset about the status quo.

Boo hoo. Get over it and get a life. You certainly have enough money after you tossed out Thaksin and made room for more opportunity for yourselves. And now the chickens come home to roost. You really don't want to go there, and no sensible judge will take your case,

Another stupid, inciteful article by Pulitzer wanna-be's

Obviously you had a bad day, so rather than biting into your post, I simply wish you well my friend. Stay cool, grap a beer and keep smiling. Tomorrow is another day

Thanks Rubl. You had me laughing. Actually I am already sucking down the suds. I get entertainment from Thaivisa. You can't write this stuff, and I include myself in that statement. If you are female, judging by your avatar, then I am sure that my wife won't mind me saying that I would rather have you taker a bite out of me by gracing me with a dance on a dance floor, rather than bantering and cracking over stupid issues that are meaningless.

You are diamond. Thanks for the well wishing.

Whether your wife would object or not is totally unimportant (to me). Had you looked at my profile you'd seen 'gender: male'. My member name is 'rubl', or somewhat more clear 'RUBL'; my avatar reflects my stance 'wondering', but not a gender or inclination.

So once more, grab that beer and keep smiling to your missus

Now that is funny! Thanks for the heads up! (no pun intended) Best wishes to you!

[Siam Simon]

How stupid can you get. Being banned means they cannot serve in office. It doesn't mean they have to wear muzzles on their mouths.

Being banned means that they can't be INVOLVED in politics, NOT only that they cannot serve in office.

Tell That To Newin and Banhan

And to k. Thaksin, and about 100+ others from various parties. Only one more day for Thai citizens and Thai legal entities to file a complaint with the EC, so hurry up

As phiphidon already pointed out to you, it was filed quite some time ago against the Newin group coalition with the Dems in a clear-cut case of a banned politician being involved with a government, when the EC ruled in favour of the Dems. Sooooo......either the EC will be consistent, or the EC will be.....er.....partial. I, personally, would be surprised if the EC was anything other than consistent.

[Siam Simon]

Democrats = hypocrats.

No problem with Newin Chidchob or Banharn Silapa-Archa (veteran politics already banned 5 years too, de facto party leaders) when they are was supporter of Democrat-lead coalitions. Double standard, well.

Yes, it is "common knowledge" that Newin is heavily involved with the BJT. If proof of that can be found then he should be judged under the same rule. However, I'd imagine he took pains to keep any outright signs of his involvement out of the public eye. Unlike Thaksin, who for whatever reason, (arrogance, ego, stupidity...), very publically broadcast the proof of his control over the PTP.

It's hard to imagine the political debate on TVF getting any sillier than this quoted response by "Ballpoint". He has inadvertently flagged up the politicisation that needs to be eradicated from Thai political legal process if it is to move away from the shackles of unelected meddlers.

[Siam Simon]

...

Is thedistribution of a few bahts worth of noodles really a serious election act violation?

...

It was the local branch of the EC that included the "noodles incident" in their election report. The Democrats have nothing to do with that.

Everyone seems to have forgotten that just, before the election, Pheu Thai asked the EC to disband the Democrats ... because they "criticised it's candidates".

Lets not let a small local incident about noodles distract from the real issues.

I would view dissolution for criticizing candidates as a ridiculous charge.

But letting banned, self exiled and convicted Thaksin control, finance and,

dictate positions and membership positions to the party is an extremely serious charge,

And letting banned Newin control, finance and dictate positions and membership positions to the party, and negotiate cabinet positions in government are just about as serious as political offences get. The fact that the Dems were a willing party to all this means that they had to be banned when the complaint was filed. Er..... they didn't get banned. Time to put the EC under scrutiny IMO. It should be one of the first acts of whichever dept pertains to the new government.

Edited July 9, 2011 by Siam Simon

[dmcguire70]

How can readers be so out of touch with reality?

Thaksin bought off just about every man & his dog.

Motorbike drivers, taxi drivers, sidewalk vendors,

shop attendants, and many more were given

1000 baht for their votes.

Heads of constituencies were given 1,000,000 baht

to gather votes for Thaksin.

This information i know first hand, for here around

my neighbourhood all such people vanished

mysteriously out of sight much earlier than usual

on the eve of the elections.

Later they themselves told me they had gone to collect

their money.

Do you still call this a democracy?

What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether all of those people you mentioned would have there votes bought.Yes they may have been paid to VOTE, however i doubt whether you could buy someone's vote unless you had Thaksins foot soldiers peering over your shoulder at the ballot box.

Most of those taxi drivers,street vendors etc would have voted For Thaksin anyway.Some political parties in the US pay people to register to vote.If it were up to me I'd make voting compulsory just as it is in Australia where you get a fair and balanced outcome.

Dems are just lucky voting Isn't compulsory because the result would have been a lot more catastrophic for them.

Just let it go!

Edited July 9, 2011 by dmcguire70

[themockrat]

How can readers be so out of touch with reality?

Thaksin bought off just about every man & his dog.

Motorbike drivers, taxi drivers, sidewalk vendors,

shop attendants, and many more were given

1000 baht for their votes.

Heads of constituencies were given 1,000,000 baht

to gather votes for Thaksin.

This information i know first hand, for here around

my neighbourhood all such people vanished

mysteriously out of sight much earlier than usual

on the eve of the elections.

Later they themselves told me they had gone to collect

their money.

Do you still call this a democracy?

No, that would be called hallucination. If people "vanished" from your village earlier than usual it's probably because they went to play cards, get drunk or see their mia noi. Election day was a national holiday. People go out, have fun. Not everyone sits at home making up conspiracy theories.

[Valentine]

What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether all of those people you mentioned would have there votes bought.Yes they may have been paid to VOTE, however i doubt whether you could buy someone's vote unless you had Thaksins foot soldiers peering over your shoulder at the ballot box.

Most of those taxi drivers,street vendors etc would have voted For Thaksin anyway.Some political parties in the US pay people to register to vote.If it were up to me I'd make voting compulsory just as it is in Australia where you get a fair and balanced outcome.

Dems are just lucky voting Isn't compulsory because the result would have been a lot more catastrophic for them.

Just let it go!

Voting is compulsory here but generally not enforced. In the past it has been demonstrated that many of those who do not vote are in actual fact Democrat supporters.

[dmcguire70]

What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether all of those people you mentioned would have there votes bought.Yes they may have been paid to VOTE, however i doubt whether you could buy someone's vote unless you had Thaksins foot soldiers peering over your shoulder at the ballot box.

Most of those taxi drivers,street vendors etc would have voted For Thaksin anyway.Some political parties in the US pay people to register to vote.If it were up to me I'd make voting compulsory just as it is in Australia where you get a fair and balanced outcome.

Dems are just lucky voting Isn't compulsory because the result would have been a lot more catastrophic for them.

Just let it go!

Voting is compulsory here but generally not enforced. In the past it has been demonstrated that many of those who do not vote are in actual fact Democrat supporters.

Oh well ,they must be pretty apathetic about the state of the nation.

Only got themselves to blame.

BTW Editing posts has been disabled for some reason.Anyone else noticed this?

[whybother]

53% of the seats does not equate to 53% of the votes. It is quite possible if you have large wins and narrow losses to get more than 50% of the vote and still not get a majority. The discrepancy of the number of seats compared to the percentage of the vote is a reflection of this.

With 40 parties competing in Thailand, it would be a possible (but not likely) for a party to win 500 seats with as little as 3% of the vote. That's the way the system works.

[whybother]

BTW Editing posts has been disabled for some reason.Anyone else noticed this?

You can't edit a post after a certain amount of time.

[dmcguire70]

53% of the seats does not equate to 53% of the votes. It is quite possible if you have large wins and narrow losses to get more than 50% of the vote and still not get a majority. The discrepancy of the number of seats compared to the percentage of the vote is a reflection of this.

With 40 parties competing in Thailand, it would be a possible (but not likely) for a party to win 500 seats with as little as 3% of the vote. That's the way the system works.

Instead of paying people to vote perhaps they should draft a new law and fine the people 1000 baht if they don't vote.

That would open the proverbial pandora's box would't it?

[Valentine]

Voting is compulsory here but generally not enforced. In the past it has been demonstrated that many of those who do not vote are in actual fact Democrat supporters.

Oh well ,they must be pretty apathetic about the state of the nation.

Only got themselves to blame.

BTW Editing posts has been disabled for some reason.Anyone else noticed this?

Or it could be they don't get paid & transported to the polling station.

[OzMick]

How can readers be so out of touch with reality?

Thaksin bought off just about every man & his dog.

Motorbike drivers, taxi drivers, sidewalk vendors,

shop attendants, and many more were given

1000 baht for their votes.

Heads of constituencies were given 1,000,000 baht

to gather votes for Thaksin.

This information i know first hand, for here around

my neighbourhood all such people vanished

mysteriously out of sight much earlier than usual

on the eve of the elections.

Later they themselves told me they had gone to collect

their money.

Do you still call this a democracy?

What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether all of those people you mentioned would have there votes bought.Yes they may have been paid to VOTE, however i doubt whether you could buy someone's vote unless you had Thaksins foot soldiers peering over your shoulder at the ballot box.

Most of those taxi drivers,street vendors etc would have voted For Thaksin anyway.Some political parties in the US pay people to register to vote.If it were up to me I'd make voting compulsory just as it is in Australia where you get a fair and balanced outcome.

Dems are just lucky voting Isn't compulsory because the result would have been a lot more catastrophic for them.

Just let it go!

"What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether.............." Nothing is ridiculous because you doubt it.........if you knew, on the other hand, perhaps.

As I informed you after your last post, voting is compulsory in Thailand but it is not enforced. Voting is NOT compulsory in Australia, though attendance at a polling station is. If you fail to attend, there is a wide choice of possible excuses, and only a small fine. The other alternative is to change address and not re-register on the electoral roll.

The fair and balanced outcome that you get in Australia is more because politicians obey electoral law because it is strictly enforced - now isn't that a good idea?

As I asked you last post, do you think the large majority of those to feckless/idle/drunk/stupid to vote to be PTP supporters? On what do you base that, the ones that did vote?

When someone breaks a law which personally affects you, like snatching your handbag, will you call to the nearby Police "let it go, its only B10,000 and a gold chain!" or like the GK do you believe that laws are relative and that you get to decide if they are serious or not?

[dmcguire70]

How can readers be so out of touch with reality?

Thaksin bought off just about every man & his dog.

Motorbike drivers, taxi drivers, sidewalk vendors,

shop attendants, and many more were given

1000 baht for their votes.

Heads of constituencies were given 1,000,000 baht

to gather votes for Thaksin.

This information i know first hand, for here around

my neighbourhood all such people vanished

mysteriously out of sight much earlier than usual

on the eve of the elections.

Later they themselves told me they had gone to collect

their money.

Do you still call this a democracy?

What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether all of those people you mentioned would have there votes bought.Yes they may have been paid to VOTE, however i doubt whether you could buy someone's vote unless you had Thaksins foot soldiers peering over your shoulder at the ballot box.

Most of those taxi drivers,street vendors etc would have voted For Thaksin anyway.Some political parties in the US pay people to register to vote.If it were up to me I'd make voting compulsory just as it is in Australia where you get a fair and balanced outcome.

Dems are just lucky voting Isn't compulsory because the result would have been a lot more catastrophic for them.

Just let it go!

"What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether.............." Nothing is ridiculous because you doubt it.........if you knew, on the other hand, perhaps.

As I informed you after your last post, voting is compulsory in Thailand but it is not enforced. Voting is NOT compulsory in Australia, though attendance at a polling station is. If you fail to attend, there is a wide choice of possible excuses, and only a small fine. The other alternative is to change address and not re-register on the electoral roll.

The fair and balanced outcome that you get in Australia is more because politicians obey electoral law because it is strictly enforced - now isn't that a good idea?

As I asked you last post, do you think the large majority of those to feckless/idle/drunk/stupid to vote to be PTP supporters? On what do you base that, the ones that did vote?

When someone breaks a law which personally affects you, like snatching your handbag, will you call to the nearby Police "let it go, its only B10,000 and a gold chain!" or like the GK do you believe that laws are relative and that you get to decide if they are serious or not?

The weakness of non-compulsory voting regimes is that governments can be seen to lack legitimacy by those sections of the populace who chose not to cast a vote. A characteristic of non-compulsory voting is that it makes it easier for special interest groups to vote themselves into power if large sections of the population do not participate in the political process.Because it maximises voter turnout, compulsory voting also maximises the amount of campaign cost reimbursement—public moneys paid to candidates and parties polling a minimum of 4 per cent at an election.Can't remember Australia having any coups in the last couple hundred years.

In 2007 there were 13,645,073 registered voters in Australia out of a population of 20 million, which is pretty high.

If u wan't legitimacy u need to change the status quo!!

Edited July 10, 2011 by dmcguire70

[whybother]

The weakness of non-compulsory voting regimes is that governments can be seen to lack legitimacy by those sections of the populace who chose not to cast a vote. A characteristic of non-compulsory voting is that it makes it easier for special interest groups to vote themselves into power if large sections of the population do not participate in the political process.Because it maximises voter turnout, compulsory voting also maximises the amount of campaign cost reimbursement—public moneys paid to candidates and parties polling a minimum of 4 per cent at an election.Can't remember Australia having any coups in the last couple hundred years.

In 2007 there were 13,645,073 registered voters in Australia out of a population of 20 million, which is pretty high.

If u wan't legitimacy u need to change the status quo!!

The people who don't vote have no legitimacy in complaining about an elected government - whether it's non-compulsory or compulsory voting.

Agree with your second sentence. That is a good reason to have compulsory voting.

It's irrelevant how many people vote. 4% is still 4%. Having more people vote doesn't change that.

If people vote for the status quo, then that is legitimate.

[rixalex]

Gosh, I still don't have an answer.

Do the people defending the complaints against PTP honestly believe that the motive is based solely on the accusers' love of Thailand, an respect for the rule of law and respect for the electoral process?

Or is the reluctance to respond because people know that the complaints are all about harrassment?

Lots of fanciful statements, but not one definitive answer that states that the Democrats are motivated by their respect for the law. Interesting.

If you shoot someone on your front lawn and your neighbour, who you have been having a spat with about an encroaching bush for the last year or so, witnesses you doing so and calls it in to the police, the police arrive, investigate the scene, take you in for questioning and decide whether you have committed a crime or not. The POLICE decide. Not your neighbour.

Upon hearing that you and your neighbour weren't good friends, do the police then say, "now hold on a sec, there's a mountain of evidence here that this man committed the most serious of crimes, but forget about that, his neighbour doesn't like him, sounds like a case of harassment to me, he should never have phoned in the crime, that's just sour grapes.... LET THIS MAN GO AT ONCE! He's a victim i say!

Law cares about one thing and one thing only. Was a crime committed? Yes or No?

PTP are obviously law-abiding fellows with a strong belief in democratic values, so i'm sure they followed all the laws and have nothing to fear. "Bring it on" they should be saying, "we have nothing to hide".

[OzMick]

What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether all of those people you mentioned would have there votes bought.Yes they may have been paid to VOTE, however i doubt whether you could buy someone's vote unless you had Thaksins foot soldiers peering over your shoulder at the ballot box.

Most of those taxi drivers,street vendors etc would have voted For Thaksin anyway.Some political parties in the US pay people to register to vote.If it were up to me I'd make voting compulsory just as it is in Australia where you get a fair and balanced outcome.

Dems are just lucky voting Isn't compulsory because the result would have been a lot more catastrophic for them.

Just let it go!

"What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether.............." Nothing is ridiculous because you doubt it.........if you knew, on the other hand, perhaps.

As I informed you after your last post, voting is compulsory in Thailand but it is not enforced. Voting is NOT compulsory in Australia, though attendance at a polling station is. If you fail to attend, there is a wide choice of possible excuses, and only a small fine. The other alternative is to change address and not re-register on the electoral roll.

The fair and balanced outcome that you get in Australia is more because politicians obey electoral law because it is strictly enforced - now isn't that a good idea?

As I asked you last post, do you think the large majority of those to feckless/idle/drunk/stupid to vote to be PTP supporters? On what do you base that, the ones that did vote?

When someone breaks a law which personally affects you, like snatching your handbag, will you call to the nearby Police "let it go, its only B10,000 and a gold chain!" or like the GK do you believe that laws are relative and that you get to decide if they are serious or not?

The weakness of non-compulsory voting regimes is that governments can be seen to lack legitimacy by those sections of the populace who chose not to cast a vote. A characteristic of non-compulsory voting is that it makes it easier for special interest groups to vote themselves into power if large sections of the population do not participate in the political process.Because it maximises voter turnout, compulsory voting also maximises the amount of campaign cost reimbursement—public moneys paid to candidates and parties polling a minimum of 4 per cent at an election.Can't remember Australia having any coups in the last couple hundred years.

In 2007 there were 13,645,073 registered voters in Australia out of a population of 20 million, which is pretty high.

If u wan't legitimacy u need to change the status quo!!

If you wish to post as a reply, could you please keep it relevant to the post being replied to, and possibly answer some of the questions raised in it.

Why compare compulsory and non compulsory voting when Thailand is compulsory but not enforced (for the 3rd time)?

The reason Australia hasn't had coups is because no Oz PM would dream of unfairly promoting his family members to high positions in the courts or military, refused to hold elections, or tried to bankrupt the country with his thieving. If Keating or Fraser had offered food aid to say Fiji, but it all had to be bought from his farm, they would have been out of a job so fast they wouldn't have time to blink.

Which legitimacy and which status quo are you referring to?

[dmcguire70]

What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether all of those people you mentioned would have there votes bought.Yes they may have been paid to VOTE, however i doubt whether you could buy someone's vote unless you had Thaksins foot soldiers peering over your shoulder at the ballot box.

Most of those taxi drivers,street vendors etc would have voted For Thaksin anyway.Some political parties in the US pay people to register to vote.If it were up to me I'd make voting compulsory just as it is in Australia where you get a fair and balanced outcome.

Dems are just lucky voting Isn't compulsory because the result would have been a lot more catastrophic for them.

Just let it go!

"What you are saying is ridiculous because I doubt whether.............." Nothing is ridiculous because you doubt it.........if you knew, on the other hand, perhaps.

As I informed you after your last post, voting is compulsory in Thailand but it is not enforced. Voting is NOT compulsory in Australia, though attendance at a polling station is. If you fail to attend, there is a wide choice of possible excuses, and only a small fine. The other alternative is to change address and not re-register on the electoral roll.

The fair and balanced outcome that you get in Australia is more because politicians obey electoral law because it is strictly enforced - now isn't that a good idea?

As I asked you last post, do you think the large majority of those to feckless/idle/drunk/stupid to vote to be PTP supporters? On what do you base that, the ones that did vote?

When someone breaks a law which personally affects you, like snatching your handbag, will you call to the nearby Police "let it go, its only B10,000 and a gold chain!" or like the GK do you believe that laws are relative and that you get to decide if they are serious or not?

The weakness of non-compulsory voting regimes is that governments can be seen to lack legitimacy by those sections of the populace who chose not to cast a vote. A characteristic of non-compulsory voting is that it makes it easier for special interest groups to vote themselves into power if large sections of the population do not participate in the political process.Because it maximises voter turnout, compulsory voting also maximises the amount of campaign cost reimbursement—public moneys paid to candidates and parties polling a minimum of 4 per cent at an election.Can't remember Australia having any coups in the last couple hundred years.

In 2007 there were 13,645,073 registered voters in Australia out of a population of 20 million, which is pretty high.

If u wan't legitimacy u need to change the status quo!!

If you wish to post as a reply, could you please keep it relevant to the post being replied to, and possibly answer some of the questions raised in it.

Why compare compulsory and non compulsory voting when Thailand is compulsory but not enforced (for the 3rd time)?

The reason Australia hasn't had coups is because no Oz PM would dream of unfairly promoting his family members to high positions in the courts or military, refused to hold elections, or tried to bankrupt the country with his thieving. If Keating or Fraser had offered food aid to say Fiji, but it all had to be bought from his farm, they would have been out of a job so fast they wouldn't have time to blink.

Which legitimacy and which status quo are you referring to?

I raised a point to one of your replies which was completely relevant to the topic.

Sorry i did't fall in line with your regulations Chairman Mao.

[OzMick]

For anybody who wishes to compare the so-called compulsory voting systems of Australia and Thailand please accept the following:

Thailand has compulsory voting but it is not enforced.

Australia has compulsory attendance at a polling station only (for registered voters). If you wish you can tear up your ballot in plain view of officials and throw it in the nearest garbage. There are plenty provided for promotional rubbish.

If you did this in Thailand you would immediately be arrested - it is a criminal offence to damage ballot papers, though it is legal to make a no-vote ballot.